Bloody Fingerprints
by Emily Bones
Summary: Vampires have revealed themselves and Bella is living in a world trying to adjust to a new species. She is sick of other people and just wants to get out of her backwater town. She didn't want to become a vampire soul-mate, but life's unpredictable. OOC. AU. REPOSTED AND REVAMPED!
1. Chosen

**_Look at my profile for more info on why this story was pulled. Y'know what? I remembered that when I got a new laptop, I uploaded all of my documents onto Google Doc, just in case I couldn't transfer all of them. This means I have the first 7 or so chapters of Bloody Fingerprints. YAY for ancient organisation! Here is the first chapter revamped, my old ANs intact. Enjoy!_ **

**Ok, this idea is a little weird. It's kinda a mixture of all the vampire novels ****I have read recently. To give you an idea of the setting, vampires have come out of ****hiding and are sort of accepted into normal human society. When I say 'sort of' ****there is a taboo that hangs around them. They aren't Meyer's kind of vampires, as ****will be explained in this chapter. Please read and review. My first M rate so be nice. ****No lemons whatsoever and slightly OOC. Should I go on? I own a pair of DMs, two ****goldfish named Shub and Pluto, an iPod named 'The Jukebox' and a quilt I have ****had since I was 3. I don't own the Twilight characters. No infringement intended.**

_Chosen_

_Bella Swan Biology: Vampire Characteristics and Behaviours 03/04/2010_

_What is a Vampire?_

_A vampire or Homo Lamia is a being that drinks the blood of humans or animals to sustain himself._

_What do they look like?_

_They are always male. It is impossible to get a female vampire. Their eye colour_ _varies from deep purple, to a bright gold. They do have 'fangs' but these only show when_ _the vampire is angry, thirsty or sexually aroused. Usually have extreme_ _personal attractiveness._

_Strengths:_  
_1) Speed_  
_2) Great strength_  
_3) Intelligence_  
_4) Sharp senses_  
_5) Stakes do not affect them. Neither do holy water or crucifixes. All myths._  
_6) Practically immune_

_Weaknesses:_  
_1) Direct sunlight is painful and can be fatal._  
_2) They can only be killed by decapitation._

_How and when do they need to feed?_

_Every couple of days. Their metabolism is much longer than the human one. As said_ _earlier, when a vampire is aroused for feeding, their canine's elongate to form 'fangs'._ _These 'fangs' release an endorphin if to consort or a neurotoxin if to victim into the blood._

_How do they reproduce?_

_They cannot be 'made' like in legends but are born just like humans. They take human mates known as consorts__. The choice of these consorts is due to 'marking'. When a vampire sees their mate_ _they instantly feel connected to that human female. They mark her as their own and no_ _other vampire is allowed to touch that female. Copulation is not required. This rather primitive behaviour can result_ _to fights between males, as the vampire who has imprinted feels extreme protection over_ _that female. The female human can produce a limit of three vampire children. Each child_ _would be a vampire, and would only take appearance traits from the mother such as hair_ _colour. All other aspects are controlled by the father, as vampire genes commonly have_ _more dominant genotypes in their DNA._

_Does anything change about human female?_  
_The human female becomes practically immortal when the full marking is f__inished. She only dies when her mate dies and vice versa. The two mates literally cannot __live without each other. For the human in the process, this is truly life changing, as she __would have leave everything behind for her mate._

You know the world has gone crazy, when you find yourself in biology writing out the characteristics of vampires. 6 months ago a vampire family revealed themselves on live television. The show was cornily named _The Interview with the Vampires_ like the movie, but unlike the movie, it was real. The whole world watched in fascinated horror as 3 vampires and their consorts sat calmly in that tiny room, explaining it all. It takes 6 months for the human race to reshape itself for a whole new species. Life was never going to be the same again.

I leaned back on my seat and watched as Mr. Banner began a diagram of the vampire fang. Who knew vampires could be so fucking goddamn dull? I have had at least three essays on how vampires revealing themselves would affect the world from teachers, which have nothing to do with their subjects. This morning I had to sit through one hour long PSE session, one half hour on how we would defend ourselves if a vampire took a suck at us. The other half hour was how the vampire might lie to us about being our soul mate, because apparently, human virgin girls are a good fuck. Everywhere you saw adverts for that weird synthetic blood drink Vitality with the words: Now in strawberry! plastered across billboards and all over the TV. My dad, the Chief of Police of Forks Washington, has arrested at least three vampires for illegally feeding off a human without the human's consent. He'd come back saying, "These are crazy times we are living in. Crazy times."

We'd both look at each other, with the same thought in our minds, our eyes wondering to the mantle piece where her picture was, her pearls curled around the base of the frame. Her rusted over pearls.

A scrunched up ball of paper landed on my desk, breaking me from the cogs of macabre shittiness. I sighed and opened the note up.

_U comin 2nite? J_

Deciphering Jessica's notes and texts is the equivalent of deciphering the stars to tell the future. Long and pointless.

I scribbled back to Jessica:_ Coming where? _

_2 mike's house hes got kegs_.

A specimen such as Jessica Stanley is obsessed with exactly three things: being popular, getting drunk and a penis. For Jessica this is Mike Newton's penis. This party held all of these things, so of course she had to be there, along with me and Lauren. Lauren was almost same as Jessica in her goals, except she was obsessed with Tyler Crowley. I had to be there, so I could pull both Lauren's and Jessica's wasted bodies from the tangled sweaty limbs of afore mentioned boys, as I hated getting drunk. Ever. I just didn't like it. Whether it was my father telling me stories about the smashed up cars and the bodies of victims of drink driving or the fact that my mother had had a tendency for reaching for the bottle, I just did not get drunk.

_Yeah, I'll be there_.

_gr8!_

I rolled my eyes at her reply and continued to stare dejectedly at the board. I was never quite sure why I stayed with Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory. I didn't like them much and they didn't like me much. I guess because they found me useful at parties and I found them useful for making my dad happy. Having friends and pretending to like them for the sake of both my father and my own social wellbeing was a hell of a lot easier than just being the loner. That is the way of 70% of high school relationships. True story.

The bell rang. Never had a nasal shrieking noise sounded so beautiful. I leapt out of my seat and shoved all my books into my bag. "What are you gonna wear?" Jessica said flipping her dyed blonde hair over her shoulder.

"This," I said gesturing down at my clothes.

"That's nice," Jessica said with a sneer. I didn't take her obvious insult to heart though. Jessica was wearing a short mini denim skirt; it was so short you could see the black thong she wore underneath when she bent over, a thin crop white top, so thin you could see her nipples pointing out obscenely at the world. Along with this revealing ensemble a pair of high heeled black boots, that screamed "Fuck me! Fuck me!" Just looking at her made me want to put a nun's habit on her and take a shower at the same time. I wondered how she managed to get away with this, but then again most of our teachers are perverts. I was dressed quite respectably, jeans, rocker T, zip up hoodie and converses. Simple. Nothing special. Slipping-into-the-background material.

We made our way out of the room and towards the cafeteria. "Tonight is the night, I can feel it," Jessica said her eyes glittering with excitement.

"Sure it is," I muttered. She had said the exact same thing about every party night since she had started going to them. I was never sure what she meant by that phrase. Whether it was 'tonight is the night that Mike Newton fucks my brains out,' or 'tonight is the night I get so wasted I can't remember my own name,' or 'tonight is the night I finally climb the social ladder and leave your sorry ass behind.' Whatever she meant, she was sure of having a good time. She continued to talk of the party, getting drunk and Mike Newton's dick. I pretended to listen, nodding every now and then, said the words "right," and "sure" at all the right points. Lunch was the same usual slop. I couldn't tell if the meat in my lasagne was lamb or beef. Probably both. We sat at our usual table. Mike, Tyler, Lauren, Angela, Ben and Eric, joined us.

I tuned out the mindless chatter and tried to part the edible gunk from the inedible gunk in my lasagne.

Fuck this. Fuck my life. Big time.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have been born in a different era. Or maybe a different planet. No one got me. Even my best friend in the world, Jake, sometimes really doesn't know what I am going on about. Maybe it will get better when I am shot of this shithole, maybe not.

"Here they come, the corpse's brides," I heard Mallory sneer. Oh yeah, the consorts. I watch as Rosalie Hale, Alice Brandon and Kate Denali entered the cafeteria. Rosalie is a statuesque blonde, all designer clothes and lipstick, Alice is tiny little jet haired emo-goth, all black tutu skirts and net gloves and Kate is a sporty blonde, all sneakers and polo-shirts. When I say consorts, they are basically the vampire's bitches. I knew that two of them were the soul-mates to the sons of one of the most important vampire family in the country. The Cullens. They owned several estates and were the producers of the blood drink Vitality. Everyone knew that they lived just outside Forks. I had seen them. Emmett Cullen and Jasper Cullen. Soul-mates to Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon. They were gorgeous of course. Emmett was all muscles and curly dark hair and Jasper was more wiry and had beautiful messy gold hair. I heard there was a third but I had never seen him. Apparently he was just as gorgeous as his brothers.

The Brides made there way chatting and laughing, completely ignoring everyone staring at them. I sighed and went back to my food. People were so petty. In less than two months these three girls had been chosen by the local vampires, so that made them outcasts. As a girl who teeteed on the dge of social pariah, I sympathised somewhat. What really pissed me off is that it wasn't even their fault. They didn't ask for their lives to be ruined, they didn't ask for freaky vampires to come along and screw things up. But yet here they were, sneered upon. It was considered social suicide to talk to them but no one bitched about them to their faces. That's just suicidal. The last guy who did that mysteriously disappeared for two days and came back with a twitch and a fear for dark spaces.

"Fucking blood-whores," I heard Mike breathed angrily. Jealous much? He was only sore that it wasn't him banging one of those girls.

"Tell me about it, they're fucking around with corpses," Tyler murmured. Also a jealous fuck.

"It's just so wrong. They are not even the same species. It's like they are fucking a goat or something like that, y'know?" Jessica said. Such an intelligent observation…not.

After that I tuned it all out again. Fuck me. Will they ever stop? My friends could never get over anything. For the rest of lunch I pushed my food around on my plate and stared glumly at the floor. The chant reverberated around my head, _2 more years and I am outta here. 2 more years and I am outta here_. I just had to study, apply to the right schools, get the right job and work experience and Forks will be an insignificant smudge on my rearview mirror. Forever. Bell finally rang, I nearly sprinted to my last two lessons, ignoring everyone around me and spent lessons staring out of the rain soaked windows. Brain cells are slowly dieing one by one. Might go to Jake's house tonight before the party. We can blow our brains out with loud rock, laugh at our classmates and I'll watch him take pot. It was the weekend after all.

The final bell rang and I was the first out of my seat. As I was walking through the halls to the parking lot contemplating the weekend, something tiny and black whammed into me. "Woah! Shit!" I cried out. Of course being me, I fell hard on my butt. Shit! That fucking hurt!

"OhmygoshIamsosorry!" the person gushed, "I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you ok?"

"S'alright," I mumbled, I looked up and froze. It was Alice Brandon who loomed over me, her black finger nailed hand held out towards me to help me up. Alice Brandon, original vestal virgin whose dad was the leader of the 'God hates Fangs' church and now she sucked vampire cock.

Strange times.

I took her hand and, although she was tiny, she managed to hoist me up with surprising strength.

"You're Bella right? Chief Swan's daughter?" she asked, her grey eyes fixed on me. They had a weird look in them, it was expectant and critical at the same time.

Her face suddenly cracked into a smile, "We are going to be great friends!" she said excitedly.

"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"You'll see," she said happily, "I am sorry for knocking you down. See ya later."

She disappeared into the staring crowd and I gaped after her. What the hell? 'You'll see.' What is she, a psychic?

I brushed myself down and walked to the parking lot. I made my way to my truck, well it's not really a truck. It's more of a rusty hulk of metal with an engine in it. E.g. it's a piece of shit. But its my piece of shit. I call him the Beast. He's my lovable piece of junk. "We'll see you tonight right?" Jessica asked as she made her way to her white Volkswagen Beetle.

"Sure, whatever," I muttered unlocking the Beast.

My eyes caught sight of a sleek Volvo in the parking lot. The Brides were all around it. And the vampires. Emmett and Jasper Cullen along with Garret Forsyth. They all stood there, looking like Greek statues. But there was another one there. One that I had never seen before. He was beautiful. Flame like bronze hair, twisting in different directions, vibrant ethereal green eyes, that shone like bright emeralds in a dark cave. His body was lithe and strong, his facial features sharp and angular. He was leaning against the hood of the car, looking extremely bored. For a few seconds I just stared at him, trying to memorise his features, like when you see a beautiful view of a mountain or a lake. I knew I was proabably never going to see him again. And he was a vampire. I'm not that desperate. Argh! Why can't he be human?

Because no human boy looks like that.

"That's her Edward!" someone cried. My eyes snapped around and I realised that Alice was the one who spoke. She was jabbing her finger at…me. I stared at her, what did she mean? I hoped she meant 'that's the girl I knocked over' and not something else. Like... "That's your consort Edward! I told you, you had one!" Alice cried out happily. The boy's head snapped up and his eyes locked on me.

They burned, and I felt like I was being swallowed, consumed. Obliterated even. A look of feral joy spread across his features. He stood up straight, and began to walk calmly towards me. He said nothing, only smiled gently, his eyes a soft green.

My heart stopped and galloped away again, the sound loud in my ears, sounding like a death drum.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit!

I dropped the keys to my car and turned from the vampire that was slowly advancing towards me. I knew how this would work. He would mark me. Mark me as his own and then I would be immortal. I would be his bitch for rest of eternity. No freedom. I would have to answer to him and him alone. I would have to forget about getting a life outside this little rain-soaked shit-hole of a town. But that was only if he marked me. I had a chance. Knowing that my car was going to be fuck-all use, I managed to sprint towards one of the chain link fences and scramble up it, without tripping over. Well at least God was paying me a little attention. It was hard as hell trying to climb over the fence and my shoes kept on slipping off but I managed to get to the top. Once over the top I swung my legs over and dropped over the side. On this side it was all forest until you got to the road. I would call Jake and have him pick me up. Then I would figure out what to do next.

I turned to see the vampire standing still with shock. Everyone was either staring at him or at me. With one swift gesture, I flicked him the finger before starting to trek through the shrubs and trees.

After a few steps I realised what had happened. My life was screwed. I was never going to have a decent no matter what I did. So as I stumbled and tripped through the forest, silent tears trickled down my face.

**There we go. Another little random idea of mine. Do you like it? Please** **review! I currently have no idea where this is going.**  
**Bones**

**Random Fact # 1: I love Haribos. Starmix and Strawbs to be exact. I could eat one packet of each in an hour. No jokes.**


	2. Running

**_ALL BOW DOWN TO DUTCHGIRL01! She has all of my chapters saved already onto a document and she has promised to send it all to me via email. Two words: LIFE SAVER! Thank you so much! I owe you one! Onto the new and improved chapter! _**

**So yeah, I was sitting in bed thinking, "Oh, I should check my emails." So I open up ****Gmail and guess how many emails I have? _44_. All from fanfiction. All about Bloody ****Fingerprints. Wow. For me that's a lot. That's the most I have ever got about one ****fanfiction. Thank you everyone for reviewing, favouriting, alerting, etc. Here is ****chapter 2! Enjoy. Warning: use of drugs in this chapter**

_Running_

Fucking forest. When will it end? It was starting to pour, icy cold rain splashing down my neck. I knew that this was a good thing, in that my scent was being washed away, making it near impossible for me to be tracked by one of the suckers. However, my clothes were now soaked, I was shivering, my hair was sticking to my tear and rainstained face and my bag was starting to feel like a ton of bricks. I didn't even know if I was going in the right direction. I stumbled around hoping to God that I would come across the road soon. Not that God had been listening to me lately. As I continued to lurch, scrabble and scratch my way through the trees, weeds and shrubs that caught at my feet and made me trip, a stream of curses flowed out of my mouth, like water out of a tap, "Bloody fucking vampire, why the fuck did he have to choose fucking me. What fuck is so fucking special about fucking me. Why couldn't he have chosen one of my shitty slutty friends, they are more than willing to spread their fucking legs for him, the fucking whores…" and so on.

After what felt like hours, I finally stumbled onto tarmac. A deserted road stretched on either side of me, the sound of rain splattering against the road loud in my ears. I cried in relief, my breaths cold and sharp. I pulled out my brick of a phone, glad to see that there was a few bars of signal and began dialling the on person I loved just as much as my father.

"Bella? You ok?" Jacob Black said, his warm voice crackling over the reciever.

"Jake! You don't know how fucking wonderful it is to hear your voice," I gasped, trying to stuff my free hand into my sodden pocket in futile attempt to warm it up.

"What's up? You're not hurt are you?" he asked, concern sparking his voice.

"Could you pick me up? You wouldn't believe what has happened," I said, pulling my hand out and running my fingers through my hair, pushing it out of the way.

"Sure, where are you?" he asked. If Jake had been there, I would have kissed him.

"I am on the road behind my school. Y'know, the one where we dumped Paul when he was absolutely wasted?"

"Yeah, gotcha. Just stay where you are 'kay? I'll drive up and down 'til I find you."

"Thank you so much Jake. I'll explain it all when you get here," I said, relief beginning to seep into my voice. Everything will be alright. Everything was going to be ok.

"Ok, seeya soon," he said, I heard the scrape of keys in a lock on the other side.

"Yeah soon," I murmured and hung up.

I sat on the nearest boulder and began to fiddle, rain dripping down my nose and into my eyes. It's what I do when I am nervous as hell. If Jake didn't come soon, the corpse will find me and that would be my life over. I fiddled with my watch strap, then my sleeves, then my hair. I was starting to rock backwards and forwards when Jake finally appeared. His red Volkswagen Rabbit came puttering down the road, the windshield wipers working furiously against the downpour. I jumped up and waved frantically at him. He drove to a stop and then the passenger door opened. "What are you waiting for? Get the fuck in," said my new saviour.

I jumped in and almost shouted, "Drive! Lets get outta here!"

"Where to?" Jake's voice was as urgent as I was feeling.

"Your house," I said. "They won't find me there."

The wheels squealed and we were off. "Thank you," I breathed. I began I warm my frozen fingers by car's heater, while smiling gratefully at Jake.

He is the same age as me but he's huge, at least 6 foot 10. He can barely fit into his tiny car. He has sleek black hair that is always tied back at the nape of his neck and glittering black eyes. His dark skin was such a contrast to mine, people actually laughed when they saw us, but we have known each other since we were born. My dad and his dad were best friends, we were making mud pies at 5 and I was playing rough and tumble with him and his friends since I was 7. With him, being a girl never seemed to be an issue. I was just one of the guys and he was the same back. He was my brother in all but name. It was good that way. Jake was safe. Jake was home. "So are you gonna tell me what happened," Jake said, his eyes locked on me, "What the fuck have you been doing? You look like shit."

I swallowed thickly. He may be my best friend in the whole world, but who knew how he was about to react. I'd heard of parents turfing out their daughters when they were Marked, forever disowned from parents who swore they love them. "...I-I have been Chosen, Jake. I am now officially a Corpse Bride."

His nostrils flared and he suddenly slammed on the brakes. I was thrown forwards and the seatbelt cut into my neck, "Jesus Christ Jake!" I gasped, my eyes watering "Try not to kill us will you?"

"Are you serious?" He demanded his eyes suddenly furious, "Has he Marked you yet?"

"No," I said rubbing my neck, "That's why you found me out there. I was trying to make sure that I don't get caught by the corpse. Can we please go? He can catch up with us."

He nodded stiffly and started the car again. Relief flooded me, he wasn't going to throw me out. "What are you going to do?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Run," I said simply, "If I don't get Marked, he can't have me."

I knew it wasn't that simple. I knew that I could never have a normal life. I knew I had only two choices about my life: either run, like a convict or be a vampire's fuck toy and food source. A feeling of desperation and anger welled up inside me. Desperation and anger aren't a good mix. I wanted to hit something, to beat the shit out of an inanimate object.

I settled for the dashboard. My fists curled, and I began to hurl punches at the dashboard. I was vaguely aware of Jake shouting over the sounds of flesh meeting plastic. I ignored him though and continued to hit. I was surprised the air bag didn't deploy, even if it did, I would have started punching that as well. Under my breath I growled with each smack, "So. Fucking. Un. FAIR!"

My dreams of a better life were destroyed. Gone. In only a second. All because some fucking bloodsucker decided to turn up at my school. So fucking stupid.

Suddenly my car door opened and I was pulled into a tight hug. I hadn't even noticed the car had stopped. A warm woodsy smell filled my nose and I felt like I was being crushed. "There was no fucking need to attack my car Bella," Jake growled, pressing me tighter into his hard chest. The tight knot in my chest loosened as his heat surrounded me, digging into my bones. Jake was safe. Jake was home. "Now let's take a look at your hands, hmm?" he murmured into my hair. He pulled away and brought my knuckles up for inspection. I gasped, my knuckles were bruised and swollen, bits of skin had been scraped off and blood was trickling down my pale skin. "Trust you to cause yourself an injury in my car," he laughed. I said nothing as he managed to rummage around in the back seat of his car and pull out a first aid kit.

I snorted unattractively at that, "You have a first aid kit in your car?"

"Yeah! I mean if I have you as a friend I kinda need it," he said as he pulled out some antibacterial wipes.

"Careful, or I may just start punching you," I warned sarcastically, the corners of my mouth twitching.

He grinned his wolfish grin at me, the grin that made everything alright again and continued to dab at my fresh wounds. I took sharp breaths in as my knuckles stung, but Jake was gentle and once done he wraps a long pieces of bandage around both knuckles. "Now don't go punching anything else now, 'kay?"

"'Kay," I mumbled. He helped me get back into the car and before I knew it, we were driving again. It was calmly quiet in the car and I felt a little better. Punching a car bonnet is good therapy, strangely. Every now and then Jake would glance at me, worry creasing his brow. I ignored him and looked out of the window. It was starting to rain. Drops of water began to run down the sides of the glass. I watched them go, sometimes reaching out to touch them as they went. I felt like I was seven years old again, being driven around by my father to and from hospital because of the constant accidents I had.

"Here we are. C'mon Hells Bells," I heard Jake murmur. The nickname made me unlock my limbs, making up the movements to open the door and step out the car.

"Is your dad in?" I asked, eyeing the shabby red wood house in the middle of a scruffy stretch of grass surrounded by dense wood all around. There was an open garage at the side, bits of cars rusting in the rain around it and the various projects that Jake works on covered in tarpolin.

"Yeah," Jake said, locking his car with a click.

"He can't know that I am here. He'll call my dad otherwise and then he will lead the corpses here," I said trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

Jake glanced worrylingly at me, a crease in his brow. "Bella, its alright. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Just keep quiet," Jake whispered. We made our way to the front porch. "When I say so, run up the stairs to my room," he whispered again.

I nodded. He then unlocked the door, "I am home!" he shouted out to Billy, who was probably in the kitchen. "Go!" he hissed at me, his eyes flickering to the stairs.

I slipped behind him and ran up the stairs, just as Billy called out, "Hey Jake! How was school?"

I heard Jake continue the conversation as I slipped into his room. Jake's room is tiny. You could just about squeeze a bed and wardrobe into it. I flopped onto the creaky mattress and stared up into the face of the nude blonde model plastered across the ceiling. I inhaled the scents of musty bed sheets and the faint acrid smell of smoke. I listened to the murmurings downstairs and a few seconds later Jake was on the bed with me, also looking up at the nude model. "So…,"he murmured turning his face towards me, "What is gonna happen now?"

"I have no fucking clue," I muttered.

He suddenly rolled off the bed and began to rummage through his wardrobe. "It's time like these, I call for the handy weed," he mumbled as shoes and bits of clothing were thrown over his shoulder.

"You always smoke pot," I snorted.

"Well you know what I mean," he said. He finally pulled out the clear plastic bag full of dried pale green leaves. He kneeled before the bed and began to roll up a joint. I felt the bed creak again, and the model's face was suddenly clouded with smoke.

"So…what are you gonna do now? No meaning to be a pain but you can't hide in my room for the rest of your life."

"Yeah," I sighed, "…maybe I'll backpack across the country. There's no way I'll be able to go to college. I can use my savings account to start off and I'll just…go where the wind takes me."

"What happens when the money runs out?" He asked, another plume of smoke making the models sultry stare hazier.

"I'll bust tables or something," I muttered, "There is no way in hell I am going to be a 'working girl'. I still have my dignity to think about."

"So you're just going to disappear," there was a sad note to Jake's voice.

I Sad the next part so quietly, I was surprised he heard it, "I don't want to become part of a monster Jake. I- I can't."

There was a long heavy pause. He knew, but he wouldn't say. That was a cardinal rule. Never to be broken.

"What about your dad? He'll never stop looking for you, regardless of what uou ran away for," he finally said, taking a deep inhale of his joint after.

I wanted to dispute that. But I knew he was right, "well, since my dad is Chief of Police, I know what their methods are. I am the best person for evading them."

"Even then, you can't go on your own. You're a seventeen year old white chick. There are some real sickos out there Bella."

"Come with me then."

"You know I can't. With Dad in a wheelchair, my sisters fucked off somewhere and me bringing home most of the money from the auto-repair shop, I can't just leave him on his own. You know I can't." there was a pleading note in his voice. He wanted me to understand.

And I did. Shit, I understood.

Life's a bitch and then you die.

My eyes stinging, I turned my face into his shoulder and breathed in deeply. Hiding how much I was hurting. Fucking shit. This is not fair. This is not _fair._

Jake tentatively stroked my hair with his free hand, and I felt lips press to my forehead. Was it just me, or was he trembling?

Suddenly from downstairs there was a loud thudding against the front door. I heard Billy roll himself to the door and open it, "Well hello there, what can I do for you gentlemen?"

"Where is she?" came a snarl.

I froze and then bolted upright. "Shit!" I whisper-yelled, my tears forgotten.

Jake, with surprising speed for someone who must have been incredibly high, got up and tossed my bag to me, then widened his window so I could scramble out, while throwing his joint out said window. "Go! Keep west and you should get to Sam's house. He'll take of you from there."

I din't ask him how Sam and his heavily pregnant wife Emily could help me at this point but I followed his instructions anyway. Before I left, I pressed my lips against Jake's scratchy cheek, my eyes stinging. "See you later Jake," I said.

"She's upstairs!" I heard another voice shout.

I lunged for the window just as the door burst open and three angry vampires and one cop entered into the tiny room. I slipped down the side of the building, bent my legs so I could take the impact of landing against the soft wet ground. This didn't work out so well. My right ankle crunched and collapsed beneath me and I screeched out in pain. "Fuck!" That didn't stop me though. Like a mad woman I began to limp towards the forest, my bag swinging from side to side. I eventually dropped it three feet in and my speed seemed to increase by a fraction. But each time I set my foot down, white hot pain seared up my leg, and I would gasp out a curse but I would not stop. Not for anything. Just as I was about to enter the first of the trees, two cold arms wrapped around my waist and hoisted me up, "I got her!" came a booming voice.

That's when I really went crazy.

I kicked, I screamed, I scratched, I punched.

"Wow, this one's feisty!"

"Fucking let go of me, you motherfucking leech!" I shrieked.

"Edward dude, you got a reluctant one. And one that has a sewer for a mouth," the one holding me laughed.

"Let go of her Emmett before I rip you to pieces," I saw Edward finally come into view, looking like a beautiful angry Greek god. An even stronger feeling of rage welled up inside me and if possible, I began to thrash even more wildly and scream even louder. I would not stop screaming.

"We're gonna have to sedate her, there is no way she will stay in the car this way," another vampire came into view and I recognized Jasper Cullen.

"You fucking sedate me, I will fucking cut your dick off with a rusty spoon," I snarled, trying desperately to pry the hands apart.

"Let go of her, you fucking leeches. LET GO!" Jakes voice echoed in my thudding ears and I wanted to tear free and run to it. _Help me. Please. HELP ME._

"What's wrong with her?" the one holding me asked, genuine concern in his voice this time. "Why she acting like this?"

"Keep back, sir," Jasper's voice echoed and there was the sound of wrestling.

"Not until you let go of her! She's not a fucking doll!" Jake roared back. "Bella! Keep going! Bella!"

"I don't know," Edward's voice was close answering my captor's question, and his eyes were locked on me, something close to concern in his gaze. "Bella, that's your name, right? Bella...its me. Its your consort. Let me in sweetheart, please. It will be so much better if you let me in. _Please_." It was so gentle, but all I could see was blood. So much…_blood_.

I couldn't answer; I was in such paroxysm of terror and fury. I kicked out at him and he flinched back, the concern replaced with hurt shock. He took a few steps back, muttering distractedly to himself, "No...this...this cannot be. No..."

I hardly noticed the people around me anymore. There was a sharp prick into the side of my neck and I gasped. "There; it's all going to go away. Everything is going to go away," it was the person who was holding me that spoke, as he continued to restrain me. My limbs became heavy, clouds descended around my head and I felt my head drooping onto the cold arm that snaked around my body and I felt myself being lifted up. Darkness seeped out of the corners of my eyes and I couldn't fight it off. I slipped away, leaving the memories behind.

**There we go! I hope you like! Please please please review! I can take criticism.**

**Bones**

**P.S. By the way, Happy Belated New Year! Hope this year is good to you all!**

**Random Fact #2: I'm the eldest of two sisters. As the eldest I take on the awesome duty of breaking up fights over the TV remote. Woop woop!**


	3. Marking

_Marking_

'Ow,' was the first thing I thought when I finally came to. My ankle throbbed like a bitch and I could feel aches and pains all over my body whenever I moved. Waking up was like trying to swim through treacle, it was even more tiring than staying asleep. I knew it was from the drugs and I made a mental note to hunt down the twat who injected me with it and castrate them with a rusty instrument of some kind. I was vaguely aware that I had been placed in somewhere very warm and soft which made it doubly hard to wake up. But I wanted to wake up. I had never been in a position where I didn't know where I was when I woke up and it freaked the shit out of me.

"Bella, are you awake?" the voice was soft, lilting. It still managed to drench me in cold dread. I opened my eyes and saw Edward Cullen, the boy who held my life in his fist, smiling beautifully at me. He was even more heartbreaking up close. His hand reached forward to brush a lock of hair off my cheek. I flinched back and snarled, "Don't touch me!"

His smile melted away, replaced with a hurt frown. His fingers shrank back...before pushing forwards again, his face changing to a weird determination, his eyes a soft apple green, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I still recoiled even further, and said with absolute clarity, "Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me."

He finally stopped trying to touch me, his hands relaxing down onto his lap. There was an unreadable look on his face. "Why are you acting like this?" he asked, his voice quiet and pleading, "What happened to you?"

I did not answer him. I was too busy trying to fight the cloying bouts of terror that were clenching my gut. Shit. Where was I? Why was I alone with him? How am I going to get away? "Have you Marked me yet?" I blurted the question out, dreading the answer.

"No, not quite yet," he said, his voice low.

The relief did not last long.

"Why not?" I asked.

"You need to be conscious for it," Cullen said and I felt his hand on my shoulder, "We have to do it soon."

My stomach plummeted as I realised why he was there when I woke up. "Please don't."

"Please don't what?" he asked a frown rumpling his brow.

"I don't want to be a monster. Please, don't make me," I begged, my eyes stinging.

His frown deepened and he moved away from me. He stared in a brooding way at the ceiling before answering, "I am going to find the bastard who made you think that. I am going to rip out his heart and serve it to you on a silver platter."

I didn't ask him how he knew. The bloody description, strangely made a fury burn deep in my gut. I _wanted_ him to do exactly as he said.

Oh Jesus. What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Why do you want me?"

He sighed, tugging on his hair nervously, "that's not something I can explain. I just know that you are...it, for me. Call it...intuition or divine providence. How the fuck should I know?" the curse sounded odd coming from something like him. He was clearly battling with himself, trying to understand a concept that he could not fathom, "all I know is that I have to bite you and then you're mine forever. If I don't... I go insane and you die."

My insides froze and my mind sat like some stupid fucking goldfish in a bowl. Well I wasn't expecting _that_. "What?" I finally breathed, my fingers starting to claw the expensive comforter into my fists.

"If I don't Mark you soon, your body systems will start to fail. When I imprinted on you a connection was made between us. Your body now needs to complete to process or it will start to burn out. Please you have to let me do this. I can't let you die." His eyes were pleading, his face hard with worry. He wasn't bullshitting me, that much was certain.

I refused to let the tears that were threatening my eyes to spill over, to let him see how helpless I was at that point. I blinked rapidly and took one long shuddering breath. I could see he was right. Apart from the throbbing in my leg, there were other aches and pains gnawing at my body. I felt tired, not the kind of tiredness you felt from doing a hard day's work, but the kind of tired to felt when you were sick. I wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and fall asleep again, but something told me that if I did I wouldn't wake up again. "They never told us this in Biology," I whispered.

"It's a secret we like to keep." I knew he was talking about the vampire race in general. They couldn't have to humans knowing that the Marking process could be fatal. That women were being blackmailed into these relationships. That wouldn't help the corpses at all. I almost considered letting myself die. Almost. But then I remembered Charlie and Jake. Two other men in my life who had kept me grounded. I couldn't bear the thought of what might happen to them after I gave up. Plus, I'm Bella Swan. I've worked too damn hard and for too fucking long to give up now. And also I didn't have a choice. Before there had been a kind of desperate hope that had kept me fleeing but now…I wasn't stupid enough to try and keep fighting. I took another breath again, steadying myself as I gave in. And giving in, for me, wasn't easy. Cullen's gaze was intense on me, as he waited for my response. In his eyes he knew he had won but he kept his jubilation to himself. Good for him, because I would have punched him so hard his mom would have felt it. "Do it," I whispered. I shut my eyes before saying, "Do it quickly and don't make a fuss about it. Just do it."

I heard him breathe out in painful relief and one of his hands stroked my hair back again. "I'll be gentle." I heard him mutter but I didn't react. My mind curled in on itself and retreated from the surface, so it didn't have to witness what was about to happen. I felt his move away from my face and cup the back of my head. His other hand went around my waist, pulling me closer to his cool body. I clenched my jaw and curled my fists to keep from lashing out. His nose skimmed along my cheekbone, down my nose and chin, drinking in my scent. I felt lips kiss the pulse at my neck and suppressed a disgusted shudder. "It's ok," he whispered, "It's alright. I won't hurt you."

I bit my lip to keep myself from crying, as his words did the exact opposite to calming me down. I fixed Jake's and Charlie's faces in my eyes. I gasped when his elongated canines grazed my throat gently, before he bit down, tearing through the flesh. I gave a sharp gasp and I used my fists to try and push against his chest. It had no affect on him he only continued to bite, spreading the chemical hormone that infiltrated my bloodstream and rewrote the genetic codes of all of my cells. Soon, to any other vampire or human I would smell different; I would smell of Edward Cullen. His own genetic code would be implanted into my cells, claiming me in the most basic and physical way. People would know I was taken and there was nothing they could do about it. I was no longer my own person. I had someone else to answer to now. And the sickest thing was; I was enjoying it. Jake and Charlie disappeared as Pleasure threaded its way through my blood, leaving a burning trail in its wake. Heat gathered in between my legs and created a searing ball of flames in the pit of my stomach. Flames I so badly wanted to quench. I cried out, a pathetic breathy yelp, the kind you hear in porn films. My hands suddenly acted of their own accord, clutched Cullen's shirt and yanked him closer. He growled, the sound resonating throughout my body. Something hard and shockingly hot ground into my thigh and seemed to make me snap out of the heated daze I was in. My eyes opened wide, staring at the lush canopy of the bed in a shocked horror, and I managed to say: "Get off. Get off me. Now." He moaned, his head still nestled in the crook of my neck. "Cullen, get the fuck off me. It's done, I am yours. Just get off."

He finally pulled away, not before he licked at the wound luxuriously, as if it was thick expensive melted chocolate. He slithered away from me and sat on the edge of the bed. He took a tissue out of the back of his jeans and wiped his mouth with it. I tried to ignore the crimson flowers that stained the snowy white material. I felt numb, the fire extinguished.

I felt physically nauseous, like I was about to throw up. I clasped my hand in front of my mouth and gasped, "I feel sick." Had I no self-control? Was I just asking for it? Disgust barrelled hot and strong through my body, making it hard to breathe, to think. "Oh God, what have you done?"

Cullen was silent. He didn't try to comfort me nor tried to cheer me up. He let me be, and some small part of me that wasn't completely insane, was grateful for that. We remained like this, in that golden room. "I am just going to get Carlisle to call your father," I heard him murmur, his voice unreadable. I didn't respond and he left the room without another word.

The part of me that wasn't an asshole, wanted to be angry at him. I wanted a justifiable reason to be furious with him. But I was still frozen in shock, in an absolute daze of what had just happened. A few minutes later, a beautiful woman with caramel hair entered the bedroom. "Hello," she said, smiling a smile my own mother used to show me when I'd scraped my knee when I was little. "I'm Esme, Edward's mother. Would you like something to drink Bella? Or maybe something to eat? The Marking process takes a lot of energy on your part. You're going to feel a little strange over the next few hours. How are you feeling?"

I stared at her, knowing my eyes were red rimmed and I probably had a big fucking bite mark on the side of my neck. I wanted to throw something at her as well. What kind of stupid question is that? I snapped, glad to have someone to yell at, "I am feeling fucking fantastic. Thank you for asking." Her kind face fell a little and the part of me that wasn't an asshole winced at her pain. I ignored it though and Esme left without another word. Cullen walked back into the room and he said quietly, "I'd appreciate it Bella, if you didn't insult my mother. She was only trying to help you."

"Do I look like I give two shits?" I sneered.

"Why are you being like this?" he asked, his eyes burning, his fists curled. I caught a flash of fangs beneath his lips and knew I was in trouble. But I continued anyway, because in some sick way, I wanted to see what he would do.

"Well think about it fucktard," I said, hiding my fear and shame behind anger, "You have Marked me. I am now yours. And like any independent American woman, I am not happy about that."

"I am not taking away your independence," he said quietly, "I am promising to cherish you forever. What's so bad about that?"

"Cherish? Oh my God," I gave a hysterical laugh, that sounded more like a sob. "Do me a favour and just shut up and fuck off, please."

He opened his mouth, as if he was about to speak, but then snapped it shut again. I flipped him the finger before turning back around and staring at the painting before me. It was of a sunrise over a large windswept desert. I don't know how long I stared at it for before Charlie's large stomach blocked my view, "Bells? You ok honey?" It took me a second to realise he was there. When I did though, I gave him the first smile of the day. Charlie is 37 years old, but he looks more 47. His face his lined with spider web wrinkles and his hair is all but gone except for a bar of it wrapped around his skull like an odd hairy scarf. He smells of old leather, tobacco and steak sandwiches. He is Charlie Swan, Chief of Police and father to a Marked daughter. Things were going well for him, you could tell.

"Hi Dad," I said, my voice taking on a sing-song quality, "It's been an interesting day today."

"Oh Bells," his voice choked off into a sob and he sat down beside me and wrapped one leather clad arm around my shoulders. "What are we going to do with you Bumblebee?" He whispered, using my old childhood nickname. I fought back tears. My dad may not be the most emotional of people but he sure knew how to act when in a crisis.

"I want to go home," I whispered.

"Ok," he murmured.

"I am afraid you can't do that sir," I heard an unfamiliar voice say. I looked up to see Carlisle Cullen standing in the doorway next to his son Edward. He was CEO of Cullen Corporations. He was the face you saw on T.V. whenever there was a talk show dealing with vampires. I guess the vampire population saw his face was pretty enough to be seen on television, what with his golden hair and his bright topaz eyes. Plus he gave that I-am-a-very-nice-person aura out like a radio signal. "Isabella is still in the first few stages of Marking. She needs to stay with her Marker until the process is complete, in case there is any complications."

"I don't want to stay here, in this crypt," I said, glaring at him.

"Let me take her home Mr. Cullen. I can assure you, when she is in this state, the best thing to do is do as she asks," Charlie said, looking at Carlisle.

He stared at Charlie for a long time before saying, "Fine. Edward? You go with them. Make sure nothing goes wrong."

"No," I spat through gritted teeth, "He is not coming with me. I don't want him anywhere near me."

"Bella," Charlie said warningly, "I won't let him near you. He doesn't even have to go in the car with us. I don't want to lose you Bumblebee." Seeing his desperation in his eyes made me cave. He didn't like this anymore than I did but unlike me, he was willing to compromise.

" 'Kay," I muttered. All the fight had gone out of me. I just wanted to sleep and forget.

"I'll get some crutches," Edward said. He left and his father followed him.

"How are you feeling Bells?" Charlie murmured.

"Like crap on a bad day," I said. I rested my head on his shoulder. "I am glad you're here."

"Me too," he replied, "When I heard you had run away from that vampire…I was so damn proud of you!"

I chuckled, "Really? I thought you would be more pissed."

"If it had been any other situation, yes. But this involved a vampire. I heard other girls had fallen to their knees in front of them and begged to be bitten. But you? You vault over the fence and make a run for it. I heard you put up a good fight when they did catch you. That's my girl. You used my techniques?"

"Not really. I was a crazy lady when it happened. Technique kinda flew out the window," I said, feeling better by the second.

I heard him chuckle, "Everything is going to be alright you know. We'll work something out."

I sigh again, the brief moment of happiness draining out of me. We said nothing more until Cullen turned up, crutches in hand. Charlie took them from him, while I avoided eye contact. I could feel Cullen's gaze burning into me like a brand. Charlie finally gave the crutches to me. I slipped them under my armpits and hoisted myself up, all too used to using crutches.

"Let's go," I said sharply already heading for the door.

Cullen darted in front of me and held the door open for me. "There you go," he said, smiling softly at me. I grunted back at him and swung down the corridor.

I didn't pay attention to my surroundings; I just focused on getting the fuck out of there. Farther away I was from this place, the better. I swung down the stairs and headed across a foyer to what was presumably the front door. I could have sworn I saw a flash of jet hair to my right but I kept on going, past caring about what was around me. I was outside in the dim evening sun, the sky looking like someone dragged a bloody body across it. The house was situated in the middle of a forest, dark firs and pines surrounded my view. I made a beeline for Charlie's police cruiser and slid into the front.

Done with my trek through the Cullen household, I let exhaustion take a firm hold of me. My eyes slid shut and I let the peaceful oblivion of natural sleep take over.

Because personally, I don't think I could handle anymore real life anymore. To me real life was the dream and the dream was real life. I mean you know what I said: _You know the world has gone crazy, when you find yourself in Biology writing out the characteristics of vampires._

**There! Hope you like it! **

**Bones**

**Random Fact #3: I rose to Chief Petty Officer for the Royal Navy Cadet Force. My main duty was to teach 14 to 15 year olds the difference between their right and left. **


	4. Adjusting

_Adjusting_

When I woke up the next morning I was in my bed. I wondered if what I had just experienced wasn't just all a dream. I looked carefully around my room. It was small but not as small as Jake's room. My bed was in the far corner from the door, the old quilt Granma Swan made spread across me. There was an old rocking chair from my baby days and a desk with an ancient computer and a rickety office chair. The walls were sickly pink which I hated, so I plastered up a massive map of the world above my bed, with thumb tacks marking the places I wanted to go to. Photos and postcards frilled the edge of it, bits of string linking the places up with the photographs.

I felt groggy and I glanced at the clock: 7:32am. The thought of school made me sick. My ankle was fucking on fire. Well there was one reason why that wasn't all a dream. I groaned and forced myself to sit upwards. My eyes felt gritty, my mouth like melted glue and my hair was just a brown haystack on my head. "Shower," I managed grunt to myself. I scrabbled for my crutches and managed to hoist my self out of bed. I grabbed a towel and hobbled out of my room. "Do you need help?" the same melodic voice lilted down the hallway. There's another reason why that wasn't all a dream. He stood at the end, one hand braced on the wall, his polished emerald eyes focused on me. He looked like he was in pain, his face twisted into a grimace.

I swallowed thickly, "You could open the door for me and maybe get a plastic bag to wrap my ankle in," I said quietly, jerking my head at the door to the bathroom. He smiled warmly at me and disappeared downstairs. I don't know why I let him help me. He was the reason why I was in this mess. I guess I saw him more clearly, without the real fury and fear I felt last night. He was just as helpless in this situation as I was. That didn't change that fact that he was still a vampire and I still hated him for it.

He came back, a plastic Wal-Mart bag in his hand. "Thanks, could you please open the door?"

"Sure, anything for you," he said softly.

"Now don't get too excited," I said, as he snapped the door open, "I still hate your guts."

His warm smile faded as quickly as it had come and I hobbled into the bathroom. I slammed the door in his face and sat heavily on the toilet lid. After wrapping my injured foot in the bag I had a shower, with my injured foot sticking out under the shower curtain. Then, wrapped in a towel, brushed my teeth and combed out my tangled hair. I felt much better after my shower and the day was starting to look a bit more tolerable.

I opened the door and gave a small scream to see him outside waiting for me. "Do you need anymore help?" he asked. His eyes trailed from wet rat-tail hair down to my blue chipped nail polished toenails and back up again. His eyes lingered on my boobs and hips and he actually licked his lips. I could tell he liked me in a towel, fresh from a shower.

Creep.

"Dude, I know I have fantastic tits," I quipped, and if I could have done so I would have cocked my hips and fluttered my eyelashes in a pretty way, "but my face is up here."

He looked shocked then amused, cocking an eyebrow at me before stepping aside, allowing me to my room.

Without another word I made for my bedroom and slammed the door again, as Cullen looked amusingly at me. Having thrown on white plain underwear, a pair of loose navy cargo pants, loose light blue T-shirt, a blood red zip-up hoodie and I managed to shove my left foot into a black and white Vans. I had a look outside and wasn't surprised to see that it was still raining. I kept the plastic bag on my ankle, scooped my bag up from beside the door and unlocked my room. Cullen was nowhere to be seen. I wondered where Charlie was. He obviously forgot about Cullen: how could a father leave a vampire in his house with his daughter sleeping above him? Really great parenting Charlie. Remind me to thank you later.

I smelt something cooking in the air and I frowned. If Cullen ruins my kitchen, I swear to god, there will be hell to pay. I stomp downstairs and entered the bright yellow (Renee was never a great decorator) kitchen… only to be met with the most gorgeous smell in the entire history of good smells. Cullen was setting out a large stack of pancakes, complete with strawberries and cream. "Here is your breakfast," he said calmly, "Please sit, you still have time before school. Here are some painkillers, take them with the orange juice."

"Ok…" I said, not sure if he was trying to drug me as I did what I was told, "Where's Charlie?"

"The station called him in early," he said as he sat down beside me, "Please eat, the Marking took a lot of energy out of you. You'll need the carbs. I suggest you don't go to school."

"Why?" I snapped.

"You're weak right now, don't want you to catch a bug," he said simply.

"I'm going to school," I deadpanned. Even if going to school was the last thing I wanted to do right now, I needed to go to school. Firstly, because I have never taken a sick day since I was 6 and I didn't want to break that record. Secondly if I didn't go to school, everyone will know the truth. I had to go to school.

"No, you aren't."

"Yes I am."

"No."

"Yes."

He suddenly sighed, "You're stubborn."

"Like a mule," I quipped again, "You try to stop me and I will walk there or call Charlie, your choice."

He narrowed his eyes, "Fine, go to school. Don't say I didn't warn you."

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. He raised his eyebrows at me, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're not like most guys," I said, "I'm treating you like shit. Most guys would be pissed by now. You're just…being overly nice. It's scaring the shit out of me."

"Well…I'm not 'most guys'. And look at it this way: you die, I die. Pardon me for caring about whether I live or not. Now, eat Isabella Swan or I'll feed you myself."

"All right Betty Crocker, don't get your frilly white panties in a twist." I glared at him and I began to eat. Fuck! He knew how to cook. The pancakes were moist, warm and seemed to melt on my tongue. The strawberries exploded with a burst of sweetness and the cream was smooth against my tongue. I bit back a moan but continued to eat, restraining from shoving it all into my mouth in one go. He watched me, his eyes never leaving my face. I noticed suddenly that his eyes were constantly changing in shades of green, one moment they would be the colour of celery, the next of pine needles. In a weird way it fascinated me. He was beautiful monster, there was no denying it.

"You dropped these yesterday by the way," he suddenly said, dropping my car keys in front of me on the table.

"Is my truck here?" I asked,_ please be here, please be here, please be here_…

"No," he said, "It's still at school. I'll take you there."

"Fuck," I growled, "Why didn't you bring it home?"

"Because I didn't feel like it," he said simply, "The thing looks days away from spontaneously exploding."

"No dissing the Beast," I snapped.

He put his hands up as if to placate me and said, "Only saying."

I had had enough of his bullshit. I pushed away from the table, picked up my crutches and heaved myself up. I was about to pick up my plate only for him to take it before me. I huffed and left the room making for the front door. I grabbed my black raincoat and snapped the door open. "Get the hell out of my house before I lock you in!" I shouted as I made my way outside. He was outside with me instantly. I locked the house and turned to see the same shiny pretty Volvo from yesterday in the driveway.

"Do you need help getting into the car?" he asked as he unlocked the car from the porch."No," I said shortly and I made out into the rain. I opened the passenger door and hauled myself in. He was already in the driver seat turning the engine on. I thumped the door closed and glared at the dashboard.

"Why are you always so angry?" Cullen asked curiously.

"You make me angry," I said impatiently, "Just drive me to school already."

"What's the magic word?" he asked, his eyes playful.

I gritted my teeth and hissed out, "Please," with as much venom as possible.

He cocked his head onto one side as if contemplating my offer, "That's better, don't appreciate the hissing but it's certainly an improvement from earlier."

"Get me to fucking school already," I snapped, "if you didn't want to drive me to school, you should have brought my car home. Just drive for fuck's sake."

He sighed and finally pulled out of the driveway and began speeding towards the school. I eyed the speedometer: 80mph, 90 mph,_ 100 mph_. "Slow the fuck down," I cried, clutching the sides of my black leather seat.

He glanced at me and smirked, "Why? You don't like it hard and fast?"

I scowled at him, "Just slow down, please."

He shrugged, "I like it fast."

"I don't fucking care, slow down."

He sighed and the little arrow dropped to seventy.

"Thank you," I said snidely and I began to glare out the window.

We sat in stony silence all the way to school. As soon as he parked and clicked the door open while saying, "Don't pick me up after school, I can drive myself." I didn't wait for his reply, just slammed the door shut. I hobbled away, aware of every person who was in the parking lot who had their eyes glued on me. I ignored them and swung up the steps of Forks High. The stares continued, laced with venom and suspicion. People whispered and gossiped around corners as I made my way through. People stepped away from me creating a path, as if I was Moses and they were the fucking Red Sea. I gritted my teeth as I made for my locker, willing myself to not flip out. Years of slipping into the background, of perfecting my shields and of managing to slip through the halls as a ghost: all gone in a night. I was officially a Corpse Bride. The thought made me sick to the stomach. I slammed the locker shut and was met with three pair of eager eyes.

"Hi Bella!" Alice Brandon said cheerfully, "how are you?"

"Just fabulous. Thanks for asking," I said icily.

She frowned, "Oh…Edward said you were feeling grouchy. This is Kate and Rosalie by the way. We'll help you out. The first few weeks are always the hardest, what with the staring and stuff."

"Jeez, that made me feel so much better," I said flatly and I began to limp away from them towards my English class.

"Bella! Come back, let me walk you to English!" I heard Alice yell.

"Goawaygoawaygoawaygoaway," I muttered under my breath. I knew she meant well but the more I talked to the Brides, the more I realised the situation I was in. I just wanted to be left alone.

I entered what was once a buzzing English class turned to a glowering, cold English class. Everyone stared at me, their glares a burning brand against my exposed skin. Despite the fact that my skin was a beetroot red, I stuck my chin out and said, "Why don't you take a fucking picture. It will last longer."

They all looked away and continued their conversations in hushed tones. I made for the back of the class and slipped down into my seat. I suddenly wished keenly in that moment that I had stayed at home like Edward suggested. But there was no turning back. The rest of the day continued in much the same fashion. People didn't actively insult me but it was clear in their eyes that they were thinking of every insult under the sun for me. When I went to my locker I discovered that someone had written in permanent pen, 'VAMP-WHORE!' diagonally across my locker. The group of people who I 'hung out' with, treated me like I had the plague. Jessica didn't even look at me in Biology. My temper was boiling beneath the surface when I reached the cafeteria. I still felt sick so I only got a soda and I shuffled to the tables. Out of habit, I slowed at the table I usually sat at. The others were already sitting. Mike opened his big fat mouth and said loudly, "Move along corpse. You can't sit here anymore."

"Wasn't planning on it," I muttered, turning around. "At least I had the guts to runaway. People seem to forget that part."

I instantly regretted the words because they bristled. They obviously forgot who I now supposedly 'hung out' with these days as the tirade began. "You only ran because you wanted to have a private place to fuck," Jessica seethed.

Fury flamed up in my gut and the boiling anger from before finally found an outlet. Before I could stop them the next words ran out of my mouth, "Well that's rich coming from someone who told me she wouldn't mind doing a Suck 'N' Fuck. Its you and Lauren who dragged me out to the Blood Chocolate bar for- hmmm, what did you say?- 'to see if we can get some vampire ass.'"

Lauren's and Jessica's faces went red beneath their bronzer as they remembered the night, when absolutely pissed; they confessed the urge they had to suck vampire cock. "She's lying," they both said in unison, sounding like Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dumber.

"Stop trying to twist this, Bella. You're a traitor to your own race!" Mike hissed.

My usual urge to slap Mike about the face increased and I snapped back, "You're only pissed off about that because you know you can't make a grab at my ass every five seconds."

His face also turned tomato red with either anger or embarrassment and Jessica swivelled around on her seat to stare at Mike. "What?" she snapped.

"She's lying," he spluttered, "C'mon Jess! You know I would never look at another girl, babes."

"You're such a little skank," Lauren leered at me, her eyes sparkling with fury, "You tried to make our men cheat didn't you? Couldn't stand not having a boyfriend so tried to steal ours huh? I knew you were always out for our men. Becoming a Corpse Bride just proves what a slut you are."

"What the fuck Laruen! Where the hell did you pull that from? Your ass? I can't stomach to look at any of you let alone touch you. "

"Ok, I think that's enough now."

Alice Brandon was suddenly in between me and the douchebag table, her arms spread eagle between us, "I suggest we all calm down. Bella, you should sit with us. Come on." She grabbed my arm and jerked me around. "There's not much point in trying to argue with the sheep," she said as she helped me to the corpse bride table, "They'll find some way of putting you in the wrong. Best to just leave them to make their own assumptions and beliefs. Arguing with them only makes it worse."

"Like I don't already know that," I snapped, "I used to be…well… not friends…but-"

"Well exactly, so why were you talking to them in the first place? C'mon the others want to properly meet you."

I let her drag me over to her table where the others were sitting. Rosalie Hale looked up from her glossy Vogue magazine and said, "You got her then?"

"Mhm," Alice said, shoving me down into the spare seat and pushing a tray of pizza in my direction, "Eat or you'll be starving later once the sickness dies down," she said tapping the tray before plonking herself down next to Kate Denali, who was texting away on her iPhone. "You're quite the spitfire, aren't ya?" Kate said without looking up, "None of us tried to argue with the cattle. And you're brave for coming in, straight after the day of the Marking. Don't you feel like shit?"

I stayed silent but stared at my food like it was roadkill. Jesus, I used to look at the Corpse Bride table, feeling sorry for them and thanking God I wasn't one of them. Now here I am, eating pizza at said table. God, my life sucked. "Rose, did you see what Cora Warren was wearing today? Where the hell did she get the latest collection of Chanel? The stuff is barely gracing Europe with its divine presence let alone being in America," Alice asked, twirling her straw around her soda bottle.

Rosalie licked her fingers and turned another shiny page of her magazine, "Alice, we know her father has connections…not all of them legal. No doubt he pulled a few strings for his darling girl."

"Do you think he'll share those connections with us? Jazz promised me to get that exact same collection…when it came out. I swear just watching her skinny little ass walking around in that little skirt made me twitch."

"Alice, you know you would look better in that skirt…even though you don't wear any of your clothes outside of home. Instead you dress up like a reject actress for the Addams Family."

"Well my boyfriend is a vampire, might as well dress up for the part for the adoring masses," Alice said gesturing to the cafeteria as a whole, "The look on their faces the fist time I entered here after being M'ed. I should have taken a picture and set it as a screensaver. I could have sold that shit!

""M'ed?" I managed to choke out.

"Marked, sweetie. Don't worry, you'll learn all the lingo," she said waving her hands, "Anyway, what I want to know is how could you run away from a vampire imprinting? I mean, we all," she said gesturing to the other corpse brides and herself, "were instantly googly eyed for our vamps. I think its 'cause there's this psychic connection made at the imprint or something. But you? You run away. That's practically unheard of amongst the vamps. So come on, tell us, what's your secret?"

"I…uh…uhm…well…don't know?" I managed to sputter out. They stared at me and I felt my face flush? Surely there was a manual on this shit? Being a Corpse Bride for Dummies. I would so buy that. "I mean… I didn't feel myself change in anyway at all. I still hated vampires, still hate them. I knew that if I was to let Cullen…M me that would be my life over. I was just being…uhm…me."

"Uh…okay," Rosalie said, "So you didn't suddenly feel connected to Edward?"

I shook my head.

"You didn't feel like you had a missing part of yourself regained?" Kate asked putting down her phone.

I scowled at that, "No."

"You didn't fuck each other after the Marking?" Alice asked curiously.

"Fuck no!" I yelped, "That's just gross, I hardly know the guy."

They all looked at each other with these weird looks in their eyes, "That's not normal?" I asked, and a part of me was glad that there were these girls with me in this.

"Girl, that's not just abnormal: its fucking crazy," Rosalie said earnestly her eyes locked on, "When the imprinting happened, and I think my friends here won't mind if I use this term, we were like bitches in heat! We were dripping for our vampires to Mark and then fuck us. What you did: running away, even retaliating when caught… that's rare. It's caused quite a stir in the vampire world, I can tell ya. I guess we're going to have a lot of visitors over the next few weeks."

I choked on my soda, "What? More vampires?" I asked while Alice thumped me on the back.

Kate nodded, "They all want to see the girl who ran. Or rather, the girl who ran from Edward Cullen. Even by vampire standards, he has got to be the hottest guy out there."

"Oh crap," I slumped in my seat and my head drooped onto the table, "Fuck my life!" I growled. A comforting hand rubbed circles on my back.

Alice began to say: "Hey, I know this is your idea of hell but it might not be so bad. You never know you might get to like-"

"Don't say I'll get to like vampires or Cullen for that matter," I interrupted her, whipping my head to meet her eyes, "That will not make me feel better."

"Why do you hate vampires so much?" Rosalie asked curiously.

I didn't answer her, just stuffed my face with pizza so I wouldn't be able to talk. They continued to talk about various other things: fashion, gossip within school, gossip within celebrities, the latest episode of The Hills. I had always wondered what the Brides talked about. I guessed it would be about their vampires and about what great sex they were having (its common knowledge that vampire sex is beyond amazing. It's supposed to be fan-fucking-tastic. Paris Hilton's words, not mine). Hearing them talk about T.V. shows and the latest collection of skirts Urban Outfitters had, was just a little surreal. Before I knew it, lunch was over and Alice was picking my tray up for me and saying, "I think Kate has Trig with you, she'll walk with you. People are less likely to ridicule you if you're in a group."

"Uhm…thank you," I mumbled as I grabbed my crutches. I had to admit one of the good things that came out of this was I got to meet people that I could see myself being friends with. All in all, the Corpse Brides weren't that bad. I'm guessing in a world like ours, girls like them had to stick together. Kate did as promised and walked me to class, chattering all the way about the Seattle Mariners, the baseball team she supported and allowed me to remain quiet. Wow, these girls only knew me for an hour and already had me sussed out. I didn't like to talk when I was in a shit mood.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly quickly. I was out into the parking lot before I knew it. Rosalie was in my last class, so Alice and Kate caught up with us after the last bell had been rung. "Here is my number," Alice said thrusting a piece of paper into my coat pocket.

"Mine too," Rosalie said grabbing my hand and scribbled a series of numbers with a biro.

"Don't forget mine!" Kate said, grabbing my other hand and doing the same as Rosalie.

"Call us whenever you need to. If it's a question about your new lifestyle or what you should wear for school, don't hesitate. We Brides have each others backs," Alice said smiling warmly at me."Thanks. Thanks a lot," I said sincerely.

"We'll see you tomorrow Bella," Alice chirruped. I gave a faint smile to them before hobbling to my car. However something large and warm wrapped around me in a squeeze that had me gasping. My world blackened as I was buried in a cotton t-shirt and pine needles, "What the-"

"You're ok," Jake, the mammoth wall of heat and flesh, muttered, holding me to the point of breaking my ribs, "I tried so hard when they took you away, I swear." He was murmuring distractedly, "even ran after the car but there was nothing I could do. I'm so fucking sorry."

Tears tried to burn their way out but I tried to say, "Its ok." It more came out as, "mmph mm-mmph."

He finally pulled me away and stroked my hair back, but then froze when he saw the bite mark. "Bella, he-"

"I know," I whispered, tears now spilling over, "I know." Fear gripped me in that one moment. I tensed for the pushing away, for the sneer of disgust.

_You're a monster's whore_.

"Bells," he whispered hoarsely again, "Oh god, I am so sorry."

He pulled me to his chest again and stroked my hair. "I should have tried harder. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

Relief shook my core again and I shook my head, turning it to the side so I could speak, "it was gonna happen no matter what. All that matters is that I'm not that hurt and I'm still here. It was nobody's fault."

We remained silent for a long while, ignoring those around us. Lots of people thought that we were a couple before the whole Marking thing. And we might as well have been. But it was more complicated than that. More…convoluted.

I finally said in a hoarse voice "You wanna come over? I need some…normality. Please?""Of course," he said quietly, stroking my detangled and I asked "You'll follow me right?" nodding my head towards his motorcycle.

"Yup," he said making for his other 'baby'.

"See you at my house," I said.

I slipped inside the car and breathed in the familiar scent of The Beast. The Beast growled threateningly beneath me and in that one moment I felt invincible. I pulled out of my parking space from yesterday and waited in line to get out of the parking lot, Jake following behind. My old 'friends' suddenly strolled across my path. I couldn't resist revving The Beast's engine at them and their beady eyes flashed nervously at me. I grinned with satisfaction, as I imagined squishing them between The Beast and the car in front. Luckily for them, that only remained as a weird fantasy and they managed to scuttle out of the way before I pushed forward.

As I was driving home, I thought that nothing more could happen to me, which could be more dramatic than the 24 hours. I mean, what could possibly happen next? Unless God had a sadistic sense of humour I couldn't honestly see how my life could get any worse. How wrong I was.

As I pulled into my own driveway, I saw an unfamiliar car next to my dad's cruiser. I frowned at the silver Ford Focus as I switched off The Beast's engine. I slid out of the car as Jake pulled in, "Who's that?" Jake asked, swinging one of his massive legs off the bike.

"No clue," I muttered and I began to hobble up to the front porch. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a woman in a tight hot pink boob tube of a top that left a roll of fat around her hips protruding, her tight white jeans ripped artistically burst onto the porch. Her hair was a dyed bleach blonde and looked so teased and so hair sprayed, that you would have been risking your life striking a match around her.

"Belliebaby!" she cried, swooping down on me, "How have you been, creampuff? My, you're all grown up now, my little bluebell! Where is that little girl I had all those years ago?"

"Renee?" I spluttered, choking in my mother's sickly sweet perfume, "You haven't been here since I was 5!"

"Well I just had to see my darling sugar-muffin after all these years!" she said, doing a tinkling little laugh that made my skin crawl. Her eyes glittered with greed and hopefulness suddenly, "So tell me, cutsie pie, you've been Marked by a Cullen boy haven't you? The Cullen family is quite rich aren't they, my little cherry? Famous too. Tell me, how did you snag that juicy piece of meat, my little blossom?"

Shit.

And then some.

**Ruh-roh, Renee's in town...what gunna happen? **

**Bones**

**Random fact # 4: when I study, I listen to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. I heart Russian Romantic music**


	5. To the accusation of LawlClan

**Sorry for the false upload but a rather worrying review just popped up on this story that needs to be a addressed and since the reviewer has done this anonymously, I need to use an A/N to reply...read on to find out more...**

**To the one known as LawlClan... Out of curiosity, were you bullied when you were younger, or are you still being bullied? Because I am sensing a lot of rage in the way you have decided to become judge, jury and executioner on this site. I'd firstly like to point out that having a bad life does not justify trying to make other people's lives just as miserable as yours is. Secondly, for your information, I have changed my summary to comply with the rules, as this was the infraction I was pulled up on. If you need proof of this, here is the email I recieved from Fanfiction admins, word for word:**

Emily Bones,

Title: "Bloody Fingerprints"  
Summary: "Vampires have revealed themselves and Bella is living in a world  
trying to adjust to a new species. She is sick of other people and just wants  
to get out of her backwater town. She didn't want to become a vampire  
soul-mate, but life's a bitch. OOC"  
Rating: "Rated: M"

Main reason for removal: Title/Summary not Fiction G rated and not suitable  
for all audience.

The above story has been removed because it violated the guideline detailed on  
the upload page.

This infraction has been recorded and as a result, you will not have story  
submission ability for a few days.

has a set of guidelines for the uploading of stories and  
chapters.

**Get your facts straight before trying to tell me what to do. Thirdly, rules are not the be all and end all of life. I haven't killed or greatly harmed anyone with what I write. In fact, quite a lot of people seem to enjoy what I do. This leads to my fourth point - I am not going to take this down. I only listen to people who have earned my respect. You, my dear, have not earned my respect. In fact, you have done the complete opposite. I think what you are doing right now is completely immature, pointless and tactless. Your apparent joy over the destruction of the raw creativity that resides hidden in Fanfiction reveals a very angry and miserable person. **

**Because a person who follows the rules, clearly has no passion or joy in living. I feel sorry for you.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Emily Bones**

**P.S. And swearing at me was not necessary. Swearing does not make your point any more valid or any more righteous.**


	6. Unforgiving

**Gah, sorry about that last chapter. I realised too late that LawlClan was actually the little twats (pardon my french) who removed this story. That's why good grammar and spelling are important. Illiterate bitches. Sorry, I'm just majorly pissed off right now. I've been reading the arguments over at LawlClan facebook page. *growl* All I can say is, I'm glad that I'm not those girls 10 years on. They need to get laid. Badly. Or buy a dildo.**

**I'm still posting though. I'm not going to let a bunch of 12 year olds take my writing away. For the simple reason that I enjoy doing it, regardless of what the rules says I should write. Though for the reacord, I will be starting to move all of my stories to TWCS in the near future, once I'm back in Scotland and leaving a censored version here on FF. So shit like this won't happen again. **

_Unforgiving_

"There you go, my little rose, eat up. You're a growing girl," Renee chirped placing the plate in front of me.

What had once been a piece of chicken was now a piece of charcoal on my plate. Something gungy and green was congealing beside it and there were also a few shrivelled pebbles that I think were supposed to be potatoes. I poked the green gunge with my fork before dropping it onto the plate with a clatter. I turned to the woman who I used to call my mom and said, "I am not eating this shit. I told you I'd cook."

"But I like to take care of you my little gos-"

"Call me one more nickname…" I let the threat hang in the air as I glared at her. Charlie and Jake sat uncomfortably at the table, the same meal as mine in front them.

Renee had the food ready for us when we got in and the smell had told me that Renee had made a fucking mess of it. Renee stood by the table, a synthetic smile cloaking her face but her eyes portrayed an inner venomous fury. Probably directed at me. She hated me from the beginning because I was never meant to have happened. I ruined her little plans to marry a rich man, then divorce him and walk away with the half of the poor bastard's money. She was pregnant with dad's baby when she left high school and tried the small town life for 5 years before she left in the middle of the night, with the local captain of some minor league baseball team. Sometimes she would send some vague postcard from a different state a month. She mentioned a different man in her life in each postcard. Sometimes I would get a birthday card, with both the wrong age and the wrong date. I never really understood why until now. She must have thought that I would be useful in the near future. Well her patience has been rewarded! I'm now chained to a rich vampire and she's come to collect.

The uncomfortable silence continued as we stared at our plates. I leaned against my chair, glowering at Renee, who stood a couple of feet from me looking like a pole had been stuck up her ass. "So…" Charlie said, staring into the mouth of his beer bottle, "What brings you to Forks, Renee?"

"I just had to make sure my daughter was alright," Renee said, smiling a sugary grin.

"Cut the bullshit!" I snapped, shoving away from the table, grabbing the crutches along the way and hobbling towards her. I got right into her face and spat: "You're only here because you're skint again and can't be fucked to get your own job. If you have nothing better to do, why don't you just fuck off to one of your sugar-daddies and leave us the fuck alone."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! I am your mother," she retorted.

"You are not my mother. You gave up that right when you fucking left us for Phil the shit-bag loser," I snarled, "You are a fucking whore and I don't want you in our house."

"You-" she spluttered, fury and indignation scorching in her eyes.

"Alright you two break it up," Charlie suddenly stepped between us his warm hand pushing against my chest. "We can work this out without shouting at each other."

"So are you still vampists?" Renee asked, her eyes burning, her façade of caring mother gone before you could say 'fake', "Wouldn't be surprised if you were. Bunch of small town rednecks."

"What?" Jake asked frowning.

"Well it just seems the way you have been acting about the Marking, that you're still sore over Charlie's mother's murder all those months ago," Renee said evenly, smiling an evil little grin.

My hands curled into fists around the bars of my crutches and I saw all the blood drain from Charlie's face. Jake just sat there, his face contorted with anger. We were like family to him, he hated seeing us upset. We didn't talk about that. Ever. It was our cardinal rule.

"I don't think we should be discussing this at the dinner table," Charlie said stiffly.

"Oh but darling, you've got to get over your intolerance of vampires! Not all of them like to prey on frail old women. Granma Swan was probably a one off," she said chirpily.

"How the hell did you find out about it? Why would you even care?" I snarled, fighting to get towards her so I could scrape her eyes out.

"I have my ways," she said knowingly, "You have to get over it soon. You're Marked by a vampire, you have to change your attitude sometime or you'll end up dead."

"You didn't fucking come here to give me a warning. Cullen is not here, so why don't you just go away before I kick your ass." I snapped.

She chuckled at that, "In crutches? I don't think so dear."

"You wanna bet?" I growled threateningly, "Get the hell out of our house and don't you ever talk about that again."

"Talk about what?" Edward Cullen stood in the doorway, thermos bag in hand. His sea green eyes swept the room, taking in the situation. His eyes rested on me and his brow creased perfectly as he saw me. Fuck, why did he always turn up at exactly the wrong time?

"None of your business, where the fuck did you come from?" I spat at him, while Renee stared at me like I was insane.

"Speak with some respect Isabella!" She whispered hoarsely. Her caring mother mask was back on again. She then turned to Cullen and simpered, "Oh this handsome young man must be my new son in law."

Cullen frowned even deeper, "Excuse me? Son in law?"

Renee's cheeks coloured slightly but she blundered on anyway, "Well I just assumed that since you have Chosen and Marked my daughter, we'd be hearing wedding bells soon?"

I choked, my eyes wide at my mother's words and Jake snorted, quickly covering it with a cough. Cullen raised his eyebrows and went to carefully place the bag on the table. "I brought food; Alice said you would be hungry." He glanced at the plates sitting on the table and I saw him shake his head. "Shall I throw this away?"

"Well actually I-" Renee began to say but before she could finish her words the plates were already cleared, stacked neatly next to the sink. She pursed her lips before beaming again at Cullen, "That's so kind of you! Isabella, you have a charmer here!" she said, giggling as if we were best friends. I gave her a look that told her the contrary.

"Yeah thanks Cullen," Charlie said his eyes grateful.

Cullen smiled at him and turned to Jake, "And you are?"

"Jacob, Jacob Black, Bella's friend. You are the guy who ruined Bella's life," Jake said, and his eyes sparkled with challenge. Cullen's posture tensed and the testosterone levels in the room raised several notches. I gritted my teeth for what felt like the thousandth time and I couldn't help but think about what a nightmare this was turning out to be. "Glad to make your acquaintance, Jacob," Cullen said smiling in a way that said, 'You should be very afraid of me right now.'

"Wow, fancy words," Jake said grinning even wider, the sparks of challenge turning into flames, "Bella, you never said he was a pansy ass." I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. At this point I wanted to crawl into my bed and not get up for...ever.

Edward didn't rise to the bait but instead unzipped the bag on the table. The smell of spaghetti bolognaise wafted out of the opening and my stomach growled in response. Cullen's head snapped to me and he smirked, "Someone hungry?" If I didn't have any dignity, I would have hugged Cullen for bringing food with him and for pissing off my mother. But I did have dignity so all he got was a tentative smile.

_He's not that bad_, my thoughts whispered.

What! No! He's still a vampire. He's still a piece of scum.

_Crap sake! Give up your stupid prejudice and just let him like you. Not all vampires are like that._

How the fuck would you know?

_I'm your conscience, I know everything._

Fuck you.

_Right back atcha, sweetheart._

Shit, now I'm having an internal argument with my conscience. What the hell is wrong with me?

"…just a little," I admitted to Cullen, "I was about to be poisoned by my own mother so your food is welcome."

He chuckled, while Renee stood there fuming. This probably wasn't how she planned her meeting with Cullen at all. She probably planned for them to be gossiping like old women over her shit dinner. "Would you mind getting the plates out, Bella?" Edward asked quietly.

I obliged, just so I could get away from Renee. She stood, another plastic smile on, probably thinking up a new plan to turn her luck around. "So you're Bella's mother," Edward said, as he began to dish pasta out onto the clean plates, "What are you doing here?"

"Treasure hunting," I muttered under my breath.

"Well when I heard the news yesterday I just had to come and visit," Renee beamed, "It was lucky that I was in the next state over otherwise I wouldn't have made such perfect timing."

"You drove all the way here?" Cullen asked, surprise sparking his voice.

"I was just so desperate to see my darling daughter. We're just so close, aren't we, sugar?" Renee simpered to me, only her eyes betraying the viciousness of her aims.

"Oh yeah, like two peas in a fucking pod," I snapped sarcastically back.

"So you're not close then," Cullen said, before Renee could reply.

"Oh, Isabella was just joking! I-" Renee began to say before Edward cut her off again.

"You only came here in the hope of earning cash from my family and getting a chance at a celebrity status. You don't love your daughter, you never have, so don't pretend that you do."

"I-well- you see-" Renee spluttered but again Cullen cut her off.

"You have not only angered me in trying to lie to me but also upset my consort and angered her with your very presence. I suggest you leave before I make you." Edward said coldly, his eyes such a dark green they were almost black. I'd never seen him so pissed before. His anger was rolling off of him in waves and was making the hairs on the backs of my arms rise up.

"You can't make me do anything leech! I'm allowed to visit my daughter whenever I want to!" Renee spat, all pretences evaporated, although she was backing away from Cullen.

If possible Cullen's anger increased ten fold. He suddenly seemed a lot bigger, his canines elongated so that they peeked out behind his lips and his fists clenched.

"Woah, Edward? You need to calm down now son. Don't want to do anything you might regret. She didn't mean it," Charlie said warily, reaching out to touch Cullen but recoiled when a snarl rippped the air.

Cullen didn't calm down and he only seemed to get more furious. His eyes were now coal black, as he death stared Renee, who shrank into the corner, whimpering slightly.

I don't know why I did what I did next. But the moment Edward began to get angry, I felt my body tense, butterflies battering my stomach. I had the overwhelming urge to calm him down. I reached forward with my left hand and stroked it down Cullen's arm. A pleasant shock of warmth zipped up my arm and through the rest of my body. Cullen snapped his head to me, black eyes wide with surprise, "Don't hurt her," I whispered hoarsely placing the hand on his shoulder, so continual waves of warmth rolled down my arm, "She's not worth it." It took him a second comprehend what I was saying before he nodded and his eyes suddenly turned a jade green. His fangs disappeared and the tension in the room dropped like a stone.

"Get out of here, Renee, and never come back," Cullen said, his eyes never leaving my face, "Before my consort changes her mind." There was a pause before Renee sprang to her feet, rushed out of the room grabbing her things as she went. She didn't even look at me as she passed and I heard the front door open and close and a car engine start before it puttered away. I was now sure that this was the last time I would see my mother.

There was a long silence in which I felt like I was being swallowed by Cullen's eyes. The warm pleasant feeling intensified until I felt like I was being burned from the inside out. It was only when Cullen placed his hand onto my shoulder did the feeling shatter. I shrugged away from him and said, "Shall we eat? I'm starving."

The other two murmured in agreement and we all finally sat around the table. Cullen even joined us.

"Uhm…would you like something to uh…eat or drink, Cullen?" Charlie asked, as he noticed that Cullen hadn't put any food onto his plate, "I haven't got any of that _Vitality _stuff, but I'm sure Jake can run out and get you some or something…"

Cullen smiled, "No thank you Charlie. I've already fed."

The way he said it put a weird image inside my head. I imagined Cullen sinking his fangs into a stunning blonde woman, her mouth open in a silent scream. Cullen was wearing a long cloak, the kind Dracula wore, while the blonde woman wore a Victorian dress. It sent a pang of…_betrayal _through me. The idea that Cullen fed from someone else made me feel hurt. What the hell? What the hell is going on with my hormones?

We sat in an uncomfortable silence until Charlie suggested we put the news on. We did so and what I saw almost made me sick. A pretty blonde anchor woman was reading out the news, a fake smile fixed into place as she read:

"_And on to other news: The youngest son of Carlisle Cullen, C.E.O. of Cullen Ltd. has finally Marked a young, yet severely reluctant girl from the Washington state. The yet unnamed girl was reported to have runaway from the vampire in question, even retaliated when caught. This phenomenon has caused uproar in the vampire world and meetings have been called amongst scientists and vampire leaders to discuss how this could have possibly occurred. Carlisle Cullen refused to comment on the matter but Aro Volturi, the general leader of the vampires did."_

A shot of a pale vampire with silver eyes and jet black hair flashed onto the screen. As soon as I saw him, a cold finger seemed to run down my spine. Just one look at him told me he wasn't a vampire to be fucked with. Aro Volturi is one of those vampires that just seemed to get away with shit all the time. He had a list of crimes about a mile long, murder, rape, assault, thievery and slavery were only a few of them. But nothing seemed to stick, nothing. You wouldn't want to meet him in broad daylight let alone a dark alleyway.

"_I would love to meet this little spitfire,"_ said Aro, his voice smooth and silky, eyes sparkling with enjoyment,_ "I hope Edward is ready for the attention his little phoenix is going to cause amongst our world. I have to say, I am fascinated with fiery human women." _He looked dead into the camera, _"My dear, if you are watching, I would very much like to meet you. Trust me, you can't hide forever."_ He suddenly burst into a shockingly high pitched laugh that made my heart squeeze painfully with fear and the screen switched back to the anchorwoman.

"Turn it off," I gasped, slapping my hands over my eyes and turning away from the TV set. Flashing images of bloodshed jumped on my retina and I pressed my palms in harder, until I saw stars. I heard the TV being switched off but didn't move from my position. There was a quiet mumbling of words and the scraping of chairs. I couldn't believe it. Running away had caused more trouble than I could have ever imagined. Why couldn't the vampires leave me alone?

"Bella? Are you alright?" I heard Edward's soft voice filtered to my ears and I managed to shake my head, too shocked to speak.

"You have to listen to me Bella. If you want to survive this you have to listen to me. Can you do that?" his voice was so kind and his words made sense. The voice from earlier murmured, _Told you so._

I nodded mutely, not uncovering my eyes. "Good, good…Bella, Aro Volturi isn't the only vampire you have to worry about. Nearly every coven in the world wants to see you. Decide whether you are a weakness or not. They'll try to use you against my father, against our coven."

"So I'm a part of your coven now," I interjected, turning towards him and snapping my eyes open.

"In a sense, yes," he said quietly, "If you continue to hate me the way you do, they'll see you as a way in to our family. They will spare no thought to your feelings or thoughts. You need to try and like me Bella or we are going to have a lot of trouble. If you think I am the scumbag, you haven't met the others. They will try to hurt you Bella. They will try to break you. They're used to submissive women, they'll make it a sport. I won't let them touch you but you need to help me out here. I won't allow them to break the spirit I'm already in love with. You are already the centre of my universe so please help me in keeping you safe." His grass green eyes were urgent with me and it looked like he was trying very hard not to scoop me into his arms and shield me from the outside world. In that clear moment, I knew exactly what Cullen thought about me. He adored me, even when I treated him like worse than shit. But he felt excruciating pain because he knew I didn't feel anything as close to what he felt. He would die for me and I had to admit that having that kind of control over him was scary.

My hand inched forwards, gently brushing against the back of his hand. I noticed that he didn't feel cold anymore. He jolted, causing more of my hand to touch his. "I'm sorry, I'll try," I said, fusing my eyes with his, "This is really... really difficult for me. I just...I can't help it sometimes." I could feel my hand trembling against his so I closed it into a fist to make it stop, "I've seen...some pretty fucked up shit, regarding..." I trailed off, swallowing thickly, "I just...you have to understand this is going to take time. I can't switch it on like the others can. I just can't. Its not in my nature to trust someone instantly." My mouth was dry, as his eyes seemed to morph into pale mint, "but I'll try. For you. For us. I'll try to not be a bitch."

He smiled, "You could never be a bitch to me, Bella. But thank you anyway. It's going to make this a lot easier for both of us. It's just a miracle that the press haven't got your name yet."

"Where are the reporters? There have been none since yesterday," I asked, frowning slightly.

"Father managed to keep them away from this town. Declared that you were too fragile to be hounded."

"_Fragile?_" I said incredulously.

He smirked at my reaction, "it's well known that consorts are weak after the Marking process. Girls have died during it just from catching a cold. You'll only get your regenerative properties within a week. This should be all healed up when they come," he said, tapping my injured foot.

"Oh," I murmured, staring at him.

There was a long pause before Cullen asked, "What were you talking about when I walked in?"

I stiffened and said, "None of your effing business."

"Bella," Cullen scolded, his eyes warning me.

I sighed before saying, "Something that I'm not ready to talk about yet. Ok?"

"Ok, didn't that feel better? Giving me a reasonable answer without the swearing?" he smirked amusedly at me.

"Piss off, Cullen. I don't like you that much," I muttered.

He chuckled, "That might change, sweetheart."

I glowered at him but said nothing. Instead he continued, "My mother wants to invite you properly into our house for dinner this weekend, can you come?"

I sighed, "Do I have a choice? And are you sure she wants me over? After the way I treated her…"

"She's forgiven you," Cullen said shrugging, "She understands that you weren't on your best form when she met you. So that's why she's invited you over this weekend."

"Right…did you tell her I don't have a best form?" I replied, as I stared at the rain soaked windows.

"Bella please, remember what I asked you," Cullen said patiently.

"Alright, alright, alright, I'll come! Do I have to dress up fancy?" I asked, my stomach plummeting at the thought.

"Yes, that would be nice," he said, grinning at me.

"Shit," I muttered, "I don't think I have anything fancy."

"Alice will help you with that," Cullen said, "I'll tell her and she'll have the clothes with you by Saturday. I'll pick you up at around 5, is that alright with you?"

"Fine," I muttered, "So…we have this all figured out right? I'll be nicer to you and you'll help me with the shitstorm of vampires coming our way."

"Basically, yes. I'm glad we have come to this agreement," he said smiling warmly at me, relief plain in his asparagus green eyes.

"Right…cool," I wasn't sure what to do, so I punched him on the arm like he was my guy friend or whatever. Smooth Bella. "Now if you don't mind, I have homework to do."

"Do you need help with it?" Cullen asked hopefully.

"Nah, I'm fine thanks," I said hoisting myself up from the table, "Dad! I'm off to do my homework. Remember to let the vampire out."

"You are so funny, Bella," Cullen said dryly as Charlie and Jake entered the kitchen.

"I think I should go," Jake said, picking up his helmet from his seat, "Nice talking to you all, Charlie, Bella…Cullen."

"Black," Cullen said curtly and I sighed with frustration.

"Guys quit it, before I suffocate from the testosterone levels."

They both looked at me with shocked looks on their faces before I hobbled away upstairs.

It hit me then, I was going to have dinner with a bunch of vampires this weekend. And I haven't been particularly nice to a lot of them.

Aw shit.

**There! Dining with the Cullen's next chapter! **

**Bones**

**Random Fact # 5: I used to believe that my Hogwarts' Letter got lost in the post. When I turned 11, I used to wait by the letterbox, waiting for my letter to come through. **


	7. Dining

_Dining_

__"I can do this," I told my reflection firmly, "I can do this. I can go into a house full of vampires and have dinner with them. They won't kill me. And even if they do, I'm likely to go quickly…" In the end my little pep talk didn't make me feel any better and I swore quietly under my breath. I tried to distract myself by shifting my salmon pink dress into a more flattering position, a dress that Alice had bought for me. It fell to my knees in a sheet of chiffon. The top was a halter neck held by a thick black ribbon. My left leg was encased in a black opaque stocking and ended in what Alice called Christian Loo- Loobot-Looboatan - ah fuck it, someone French - black ballet flats. My right leg however did not really fit in with the whole picture: it still had cast on it but at least it was black.

She also did my make up and hair, much to my displeasure. My hair now fell in smooth waves around my shoulders, and she had pasted simple but pretty make up upon my face. For the first time in my life, I looked like a girl. A reasonably pretty girl. Going out to a dinner never meant anything much: maybe change my sweatpants to jeans but not to this extent. I felt a little uncomfortable, to be honest: like I was out of my own skin. I tried thinking of it as camouflage. This was all going to protect me from bloodthirsty vampires: mascara and lip-gloss. Great.

"Bella honey! Your ride's here!" I heard Charlie shout up to me. I took a deep breath, gave my reflection one last encouraging look before grabbing my black clutch and crutches and headed downstairs. Charlie was sitting in the living room, cleaning out his fish bait. "Wow Bella, you look…uhm…good," Charlie said a little awkwardly. Coming from Charlie this was the equivalent of any other person saying, "Bella, you are the most stunning person I have ever met and ever will meet," so I guessed I looked good.

"Thanks Dad," I replied, "If I don't return today, have search parties look for my body in the forests around the Cullen mansion."

His face turned grim, "not funny Bella."

"I'm not jokin'," I replied, "Jake can have my C.D. collection and my car. You can have all my jewellery and my books."

He scowled even deeper, "Get outta here, Bella. I've told Cullen to drop you off as soon as this thing finishes."

"Kay," I muttered, "See you soon…or not."

I ducked as one of Charlie's fish bait was lobbed at my head and I darted out of the front door. I hobbled out onto the front porch and stepped down the stairs. Cullen was sitting against his car again, looking very striking in casual black slacks and a pristine white shirt. As soon as his lime green eyes locked on me they darkened to form lustrous dark green emeralds that looked like they were thinking very dirty thoughts. As I drew closer he said, "You look very, very, beautiful today, Bella darling."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Come on. Let's do this before I run screaming for the hills."

I don't think he was even listening to me; he was staring at my jugs. I clicked my fingers in front of his face and said, "Cullen! I suggest you take your eyes away from my boobs and start driving." His eyes snapped up and he grinned that crooked smile that was meant to help drop panties by 50 yards.

"Just looking at your outfit," he replied innocently.I snorted, "Yeah and I am the Queen of England. C'mon we've wasted enough time already."

He continued to smirk as he opened the passenger door for me and I slipped inside. Once he was in the driving seat, we pulled away from my home and we were on the road to what could be possibly the biggest disaster in living memory. We sat in a solid silence for almost the entire journey. I was trying to keep my rising panic under control. I tried breathing exercises but that just irritated me. I tried thinking of…Shaggy and Scooby-doo. I wondered why they were so scared all the time, I wondered if anything bad had happened in their past to make them so scared. Was it some terrible childhood accident? Or were they just dipshits? I wondered how Scooby could talk, whether he had fallen into a vat of toxic waste or was bitten by a- vampirevampirevampire - FUCK!

I clenched my fists and growled under my breath, causing Cullen to glance at me, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied, closing my eyes and massaging my temples.

"Do you have any idea how frustrating it is?" Cullen burst out suddenly.

"What?" I said, snapping my eyes open to look at him.

"Do you have any idea how frustrating it is that I can't hear your thoughts at all? I'll tell you: it is as annoying as hell."I raised my eyebrows at him, "You can read minds?"

"Most minds, most minds except yours. With the one person that counts I can't hear even a whisper from you. You're my own personal mystery," he was smiling a confusing little smile that had a mixture of amusement and chagrin.

"How does it work?" I asked, genuinely curious about his ability.

He now seemed surprised about something, "well…it's like being in a crowded room where everyone is talking. I get images as well, rather than just talk. I can pick and choose who I listen to. As I said, I can listen to most people's thoughts…except yours. With you its just…silence. It's quite peaceful actually. Liberating, almost. I don't feel like I am intruding on you."

"Well just as well you can't read my thoughts, because I'd hate you even more," I quipped.

He didn't reply and the smirk he had worn quickly slipped off his face. I felt like smacking my head with my palm. That was probably the first friendly conversation we had had and instead I had to ruin it with me and my big mouth. I had taken our conversation in the kitchen seriously and had tried to make an effort with him. I figured that since I am going to spend what looked like the rest of eternity with him, I might as well try to get on better terms with him. But then there were moments when I simply couldn't help myself and I blurted out an insult. Old habits die hard I suppose.

What I couldn't understand is why he won't say something back. Anything. Not one jibe. He hadn't insulted me at all. I was expecting him to insult me. There was only so much a guy could take, even a vampire one. It would certainly even the playing field if he just called me something as harmless as 'idiot' or 'meanie'. But nope. He refused to utter one blasphemy against me. Weirdo.

It felt like hours before we finally turned off the main road and onto a gravel paved road that twisted and turned through the trees. It finally opened onto a gravel courtyard that was attached to a giant house. And I mean giant. My house looks like a shed compared to where Cullen lived. I hadn't managed to get to proper grips with the house the last time; I was just so focused on getting home. Now I could see properly just how rich these people were. It was a big beautiful house that reminded me of those big colonial style houses which I only ever thought existed on T.V. An off white colour, it had climbing red ivy crawling up the walls, making it look like the walls were bleeding. There were many windows that decorated the front of the house. The roof was made of soft grey slate that sparkled in the weak sunlight.

As Cullen parked beside several other sickeningly expensive cars, I pulled in a deep breath. "Are you ready?" Cullen asked me quietly.

"Ready as I can be Cullen," I replied gripping my purse slightly.

"You'll be fine, I promise. I won't let them hurt you," Cullen firmly said

."Thank you," I said and it was sincere. A part of me knew I could trust Cullen; it was just the matter of convincing the rest of me that he was trustable as well.

"And on a side-note," he said, making to open his door, "Don't call me Cullen in front of the others, especially in front of my mother. She still likes to believe that you have some shadow of affection for me. Call me Edward. Please."

"Ok," I grumbled."Say it now. I want you to say my name," he said this with a smirk.

I scowled at him before spitting out, "Edward. There happy?"

He smiled triumphantly, "Yes, very."

He got out of the car and was at my door before I could blink. He opened it and gestured for me to get out. I pulled myself out and steeled myself for what was to come. Cul-Edward was staring at me, as if waiting for my permission. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go in."

We headed for the front oak doors of the mansion. As I finally made onto the porch they swung open and Esme Cullen, wearing a green dress with a wide skirt and fitted bodice, stepped out, a large beaming smile on her face, "You came! Oh my dear, how are you?" She glided towards me; her arms opened wide, her smile still fixed in place.

I stiffened as she drew closer. What did she want? Was she going to attack me? However Esme Cullen simply kissed both of my cheeks, her action simply meant as a greeting. I wasn't used to being greeted like this. The only people I had ever been to dinner with were the Rez people. I was used to being swept into bone crushing hugs and having my hair ruffled like I was one of the boys. But this? Being treated like I was an actual girl was an entirely new experience for me. Things were either going to go extraordinarily well or horrifically badly.

Esme was now looking at me expectantly. Crap. I was supposed to say something, "Uhm…I'm well, thank you?" my squeaky reply came out as a question. "How are you?"

"Wonderful dear, just wonderful," she said beaming. She turned to C-Edward and said, "You had a safe trip?"

"Of course, Ma," Cullaaa-Edward said quietly, "Bella has been looking forward to this, haven't you darling?"

I arched my eyebrow at him before saying in a singsong voice, "Oh yes, just couldn't wait!"

Esme never faltered, she only seemed to grin wider. "Come, come, the others are dying to meet you."

I couldn't help but mutter, "I'm sure they are," as she grabbed my hand and led me through the door. When we entered the large foyer, decorated in tasteful shades of cream, we turned to the left leading to appeared to be a sitting room, decked out in shades of blue and white. There was a fire place on the opposite wall above which was what appeared to be a family portrait of Carlisle Cullen, his wife and three sons. But that was not what I was focusing on. I focused on the room full of vampires and their mates. The mates weren't so bad. Alice for once wasn't wearing her black corsets with pink and black striped stockings but was wearing a blue dress that fell to her knees, with a frill around the neckline. Rose was wearing a purple strapless dress that also fell to her knees. Alice, Rose and Esme all gave me encouraging smiles that spoke of knowing of what I was going through. It was the vampires that had me scared shitless.

Carlisle was just as cold looking as before, sitting in one of the plush arm chairs, looking at me like I was some kind of interesting experiment of his. I almost expected him to start bringing out syringes and a scalpel and start the tests he was clearly dying to do. Cullen-Edward's brothers were like the worst sort of wild animals: calm ones. Ones that you were sure were plotting your demise by some horrific means. Emmett was standing up by the fire place behind Rose; his large hands were clasped around her hips. He was huge up close, at least two heads taller than I was. His bicep probably was the same thickness as my thigh. His eyes were at the moment, a deep violet colour and his dark curled hair was a cloud that almost suggested a cherub like quality about him. But I didn't think he was neither that innocent nor that naïve. He was grinning at me like I was a new toy he was looking forward to playing with. If I could compare him to a wild animal, I would say he was a bear. And not the kind that fucked around with honey. Jasper Cullen was quite different from his brother. He was sitting on one of the couches, arm around Alice's tiny waist, his wavy flaxen hair glimmering in the light. He wasn't smiling, but his teal eyes held an amused curiosity rather akin to his father's. He was a wolf, one that liked hunting people.

"I believe you have not met my other two sons," Esme said warmly, "The strapping young lad with Rosalie is Emmett. The handsome man on the sofa is Jasper. Boys, this is Isabella Swan, Edward's mate."

Jasper smiled widely at me, "I believe you wished to castrate me, Isabella. With a 'rusty spoon', if I remember correctly. Am I wrong?" I did not answer, my throat felt parched, my stomach heaving. Why had I said that? So fucking stupid. Jasper smiled satisfactorily and pressed his lips against Alice's with a look of triumph in his eyes.

Edward growled softly hands clasping over my hips. I resisted the urge to push him away. "Pleasure to meet you, Isabella," Emmett said, grinning even wider. He squeezed Rose's hips, "Rosie here has told me all about you."

"Please," I said quickly, finding my voice, "Call me Bella."

"Of course, Bella," Esme said, she gestured to the one of the couches as we started to move further into the room, "Please sit. What would you like to drink?"

We did so, and as I settled down into the seat I answered her question, "Uhm…orange juice, if that's ok."I didn't miss the spark of surprise in her eye before she said, "Of course."

While she was gone, Carlisle leaned forward in his seat, honey coloured eyes focused on me. "So…Bella," he said in a low yet powerful voice, "Tell us about yourself. You have joined this family and I hardly know a thing about you."

I swallowed my nervousness down and spoke, "There's not a lot to know," I said, my voice surprisingly even yet quiet, "I'm 17 and live with my father, Charlie Swan, Chief of Police of Forks. My parents have been divorced since I was 5 years old.""Yes I know your father, he helped us when a pair of hooligans vandalised our home. He's a good man. You're lucky to have him as your father."I was taken surprise by the sudden praise, "Uh… thank you. He's…cool that way."

It was at this point that Esme entered, carrying an orange juice. She handed it to me before going to sit on Carlisle's lap. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer into his chest. I couldn't help but notice that every other couple in the room was touching each other, while Cu-Edward and I sat on the sofa rather stiffly next to each other. And I knew the others noticed this too. Emmett was grinning at C-Edward and began to trail his lips across Rose's neck and shoulder as if to prove a point. Jasper smirked too, but didn't make a move towards Alice.

Cullen-Edward's jaw clenched and his eyes briefly flickered to me. Rivalry thrummed through the room and it wasn't being kind to C-Edward. My hand suddenly crawled to his and grasped it. His long fingers laced with mine and he rose my hand to his lips and kissed it, his lips felt like a summer breeze against my knuckles, clover green eyes locked on mine. My breath caught in my throat. No one had ever looked at me that way. No one had ever looked at me that intensely. You'd have to be a heartless bitch if you could ignore the look of devotion, admiration, longing, desire and other emotions that don't even have words to describe, that played across his face.

"So tell me Bella, what do you plan to do after leaving school? I trust you have plans?" Carlisle's question made me break eye contact from Cull-Edward. Strangely my nervousness had disappeared, my trepidation gone, now that one part of my body was now attached to Cu-Edward. It was like all of my fear flowed down my arm and into Culle-Edward. What the fuck?

I stared into Carlisle's cool gold eyes and said evenly, "I want to get out of here. So...uh..." suddenly my plan's for the future looked so stupid, amongst all this glamour, it seemed...pitiful.

He raised his eyebrows and said, "You don't know what you want to do?"

I replied quickly, "no, I do. I hope to get into Berkeley, if they have me. The English program is pretty good down there but its so expensive." I took a deep breath, "so I'm hoping to take a year out to save some money from the waitressing job at Newton's and the babysitting things I do for neighbours. After I've got my degree, I hope to well...become a journalist." My face was beet red now, as everyone stared at me, as I bared my life plan to them all.

"Writing what?" Carlisle asked, his eyes still calculating.

I shrugged, "stuff that matters. I want to go to places where things are happening that are affecting the world. I want to see it, with my own eyes, so I know that its not all bull- I mean lies. I want to tell the truth."

There was a silence. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Carlisle slowly began to smile and Esme said quietly, "sounds like you have a passion, Bella."

Why am I not collapsing from blood loss? It feels like most of the blood in my body is in my face not anywhere near my vital organs. "Thuh-thank you."

"That explains a lot then," I heard Jasper mutter.

I stared at him quizzically and was about to ask what he meant before a woman in navy blue dress entered the room. "Dinner is served," she said.

"Ah good," Carlisle said, "I was starting to get thirsty."

We all rose to our feet and trooped out, my hand still in Edward's (yes!) hand. "You didn't tell me you had staff," I hissed at him, "How rich are you people?"

"Well, we only really have a cleaner and a gardener. Otherwise we only hire a caterer when we have dinners like these, so Esme doesn't have to cook."

"Oh," I said, "Wow, amazing to be privileged."

He rolled his eyes at me and smirked as we entered the dining room. The walls had cream coloured wallpaper covering their surfaces. There was a roaring fire within a white marble fireplace, with a picture of a mother and child above it. A beautiful table was set up in the centre of the room, the chairs upholstered in yellow and white striped fabric. "Wow," I said stupidly, as we circled around the table.

"I'll be sitting opposite you," Cull-crap!-Edward whispered in my ear before walking around the table. I noticed my name beautifully inscribed on a white piece of card by one of the chairs. I was sitting next to one of the chairs that were set at the end of the table. I quickly glanced at the cards next to mine. Esme was sitting at the head of the table to my left and Emmett was sitting at my right. Emmett was sitting next to Alice, Carlisle at the head of the table, Jasper on the other side of Carlisle, Rose next to him and finally Edward (getting the hang of it!) opposite me.

"Please, sit," Carlisle said politely and we all did as we were I sat down, I suddenly noticed an array of cutlery sitting next to my plate. Shit. There were at least 10 pieces sitting there which I had no idea what to do with. I remembered that Leonardo Di Caprio had the same problem in Titanic, I just couldn't remember what the fat lady next to him gave as advice. Panic fluttered in my stomach again.

The woman entered again, carrying trays loaded with food. "Starter for the ladies is a zucchini soup with tapenade crostini. For the men, it is a fine sanguis from an 18 year old girl from Northern Italy, non-virgin."

As she set a plate of creamy green soup and bread with this dark paste on top. I stared at it for a bit, wondering what the hell it was. I had no idea what the soup and bread contained; the names didn't help me out much. I saw while all the women received the same as me, the vampires had a wine glass filled with thick red liquid. I also noticed that they didn't have any cutlery, their table areas were blank. So that's how vampires 'dine'. I tried not to vomit at the thought and stared fixedly at my soup. The smell that was coming off it wasn't half bad.

Everyone had started know, and I still had no idea which cutlery to use. Panic stirred again in my stomach before there came a nudge from my right, "Start from the outside and work your way in," came the deep voice of Emmett Cullen. I glanced at him quickly, and he flashed a dazzling smile at me. His lilac eyes portrayed a cheery helpfulness that hadn't been in his face at all earlier and came as a surprise to me. He seems half decent almost.

"Thank you," I whispered before finally picking up the spoon on the outside and began to eat. I ate in silence for the starter, more listening to the others talk about the company and the new vampire regulations that the government was putting into place. I managed to stay invisible until our starters were replaced with the main course (mushroom ravioli for the girls. A non-virgin youth from Morocco for the boys) when things started to get interesting.

"So, tell me Bella, you have lived in Forks your whole life?" Esme asked me, her brown eyes settled on me.

"Yes, unfortunately," I said drily.

"Oh, you don't like it here?"

"Not particularly," I said, "I don't like how small it is. Everyone knows everyone. Gossip is the only way people entertain themselves. There's such a big world out there, I hate being in such an isolated place." I was impressed with myself on that answer. That was a very eloquent way of saying that Forks with a shithole full of narrow-minded people with little imaginations.

"I see your point," Esme said emphatically, "I'm not a terrible fan of it myself. I come from Columbus, Ohio and am certainly not used to the coldness or the rain here. And the people here are also so bigoted! I can't even do the groceries without a bodyguard," she sighed, her face sad for a moment, "I do miss being able to do normal things like that. I used to do it all the time before the Unveiling."

"Unveiling?" I asked smiled, "vampires call the day when vampires were revealed as the Unveiling. Anyway a lot has changed since I first met Carlisle. I have seen how truly cruel people can be."

I winsed at that, remembering what I had said to her the last time I had seen her and said, "Uhm…I believe the last time I talked to you, I wasn't exactly… courteous. I must apologise, I was very upset then. And what happens when I am that upset I lash out at other people. I am afraid you were my nearest target. I am deeply sorry for what I said to you."

She reached forward to grasp my hand slightly, before pulling away and smiling at me, "I've forgiven you, Bella. The Marking can do odd things to girls. I remember I craved eggs and beans for a solid week, after it was done to me," she gave a wind chime laugh, "And anyway, we already know you're a little bit different. But we'll figure it out. Won't we Edward?"

Edward turned from his conversation with Emmett and smiled at his mother, "Bella and I have already talked about it, haven't we Bells?"

I jumped slightly at the nickname but held my ground, "Yes we have. I believe we have come to an agreement."

"An agreement?" Emmett joined in, his tone playful, "You've agreed when you have to be nice to you and when she doesn't? I didn't believe it was that bad! Though I always knew you were a pussy. Do you have to agree when you get to kiss her, when to fu-"

Edward suddenly growled threateningly under his breath, his forest green eyes sparking with fury. His fists were clenched on the table top as he said, "Don't talk about her like that."

"Edward Anthony Cullen, no growling at the table!" Esme snapped, suddenly going into full Mama bear mode, "I don't know how many times I have had to say it! And you Emmett George Cullen don't pick fights and watch your language! Do you want me to get a bar of soap?"

Emmett pulled his hands up in a mock surrender, grinning widely, "Sorry Ma, I was just surprised that's all."

"Sorry," Edward ground out, his eyes still fixed angrily on Emmett.

"Don't do it again!" Esme finally said, her features still furious. They softened however when she turned to me, "Now I must apologise to you Bella. You must think my boys are hooligans now."

I laughed for the first time that evening, "Trust me; you've done a better job than my own mother at raising children, so I don't mind."

Underneath the cool facade though, I was raging at Emmett's words. What the fuck was his problem? Its not his business on what Edward and I had decided. I felt obligated to defend it. It was a shit situation but we were dealing with it the best we could. "And for your information Emmett, Edward is more of a man than you can even comprehend. At least he's dealing with this situation a lot better than most grown men would have. Dealing with it much better than myself. I don't think you can rate a man by how many women he can take, but by how many women he can respect. It is quite fascinating to see how many modern day men think it is manly to beat their women into submission or to think that they do not have to earn a woman's affection- they can just take it. There'd be a lot less crime if all men were that…manly." I grinned at his shocked features and became aware that the room had fallen silent.

I turned to see everyone staring at me, seemingly quite stunned. Carlisle was the one who finally said, "Well said Bella, well said." A smile twitched his lips as he looked at me.

I blushed scarlet and stared at my plate to avoid making eye contact with anyone else, realising what I had just done. I had word-lashed a vampire twice the size of me. What can I say? Girl power and...crap like that.

Carlisle spoke, "I've underestimated you. I thought you were just a stupid ignorant little girl who did not want to understand the people she is surrounded with."

This time an outright snarl came from across the table, Edward looked livid, ready to launch himself at his own father. "Edward!" Esme snapped, smacking the back of his head, "I've told you!"

Carlisle barely glanced at Edward, "Keep your temper, Edward. You're going to have to learn to control yourself," he focused back on me, "A storm is coming Bella, I trust you know that."

"Uh...yuh-yes, I think I understand," I stuttered. There was no amusement on Carlisle's face this time, "We've managed to fight them off for the time being. But this peace that we have is not going to last very long. We need to be prepared as much as possible. You need to be prepared as much as possible. When a vampire finally finds their mate, that mate is usually eased into our world. I'm afraid we are going to have to take a very different tactic with you my dear. We'll have to teach you everything there is about our world: its traditions and its culture. We also have to figure out why you feel absolutely no effects from the Marking." He rested his chin on his hand as he stared at me quizzically as if I was a particularly hard puzzle, "you don't feel any attraction at all towards my son?" he asked.

I licked my dry lips as I stared back into those lemon coloured eyes and said "Uhm…no. Not at all. Well not yet anyway, if he goes the way he's going…" I trailed off, biting my lip.

"How…odd," he stressed. Everyone was now listening with rapt attention to Carlisle's and my conversation, their eyes flicking between me and Carlisle. "It's not your prejudice that stops you feeling anything for my son," he said, completely oblivious to anyone but me, "That would have been obliterated when Edward Chose you. I've known sworn vampists who fell head over heels for vampires when they were Chosen. Yet you run away. And my son can't read your mind nor can he see past the mental Tie that all vampires have with their mates, another factor to be considered. What goes on inside your head? What do you know? What do you feel? You're just an… anomaly. What are you?"

There was a pause, before I said, with a tremor in my voice, "I'm…complicated."

There was a ripple of chuckles that broke the mounting tension that had been in the room and even Carlisle smiled, "Hmm, we'll see." He clapped his hands suddenly, "Are we enjoying the meal?" he asked loudly.

There came murmurs of agreement from the rest of the table and the tensed atmosphere dropped several notches and easy chatter filled the space. I began to talk with Rose and Alice. I thanked Alice for the dress, "I would have been utterly lost otherwise," I told her as the woman swept in again to take away our plates and replace it with a plate of profiteroles drizzled with hot chocolate sauce topped with a strawberry.

She waved her hand, "Seriously, it was my pleasure. I need to take you shopping sometime though. Your wardrobe is seriously lacking."I grimaced, "Just shoot me now, why don't you?"She laughed before taking a sip of wine, "I think you are the only girl I know of who doesn't like to shop. Or have makeovers. Or dress like a girl. Or-"

"Thanks Alice, it's great to know you have such faith in my feminine side," I said dryly, "Should I go for a sex change?"

Edward choked on his glass of virgin girl from India and Rose had to thump him on the back, "You will not!" he managed to gasp out.

"Oh come on! It might be fun!" I teased, feeling relaxed for the first time since I entered the house, "Let's see how controversial we can get. Maybe the whole town of Forks will drop down dead from the scandal." I said the last word exaggeratedly as if it was a swear word.

"You wouldn't dare," Edward challenged, "I would personally drag you from the operating table."

"Sounds nasty," I teased again, "Would you be doing it caveman style with all the grunting and banging of chest?"

"Be careful or you'll see how caveman I can get," he replied a mischievous twinkle in his eyes now.

"Edward Cullen, caveman extraordinaire," I said, mimicking a deep ominous voice, "That'll be a sight."

He only smiled back and took another sip of his sanguis (It was Jasper who told me that sanguis was Latin for blood and it was used in polite conversation so as not to freak humans or mates out. And also at dinners so that others would not be put off their food).

For the rest of the evening I relaxed considerably and once dinner was finished, we moved to the living room again for coffee. Carlisle sat next to me and we began to discuss what was going to happen in the near future, "Is it possible if you could come to live with us from now on?" he asked, concentration furrowing his brow.

I jolted at the offer, not expecting it. I had to think for a moment before replying. I shook my head, "My father barely knows how to cook or clean. He tries-God bless him- but it never turns out alright. I need to stay with him."

"Do you think your father could also come and live with us?" he asked.

"No, he's too proud to live at the expense of someone else. He likes having his own home which he pays for," that was a trait all Swan's share. We don't like charity. From anyone.

"Hmm, we need you under constant surveillance, otherwise who knows what might happen. Can Edward come to live permanently with you?"

"We don't have enough room, unless Edward's happy of sleeping on the couch," I said, eyes flickering to Edward."If you're safe, I don't give a damn where I sleep," he said, solemnly face serious.

Something like butterflies quivered in my stomach as that look from him came back again. I swallowed and gave him a small smile back.

"That's settled then," Carlisle said, "Edward will live at your house from now on until you are prepared to move to your house to ours. I wonder however, how free are you at the weekends?"

"Well," I said, screwing up my face slightly, "Since most of my friends hate me now, my weekends are pretty empty, apart from working at the diner on Saturday and Sundays but that's usually in the evening. Why?"

"As said earlier, you need to know as much as you can for when the other vampires finally arrive. I'm willing to give you classes during the weekends to get you up to speed. Can we set a time?"

"Uh, ok then," I said, a little bemused. We then agreed that I would come both on a Saturday and Sunday at 1 o'clock for two then smiled at me, "I hope this turns out alright Bella, after such a bad start."

"Hopefully yes," I said, trying to stifle a yawn. The evening had drawn on and I felt fatigue drag at my mind.

Edward was suddenly at my side, "Bella needs to go home now. She's still pretty weak from the Marking," he informed his nodded, "Yes, she should get her rest."

"I'm not pregnant you know," I grumbled but allowed Edward to hoist me up and give me my crutches.

"It was a pleasure to have you here, Bella," Esme said, she drew towards me again but this time I knew what was coming.I kissed both of her cheeks and smiled back, "Thank you for having me. Its been certainly enlightening for me and that was a delicious meal."

She inclined her head still smiling, "Thank you and I hope to see you soon."

Alice practically bounced up to me, "We'll see you in school!" She chirped before hugging me tightly.

Rose smiled at me from the fireplace, Emmett's arms again around her waist, "See you soon."

"Goodbye," Jasper said simply, "It was pleasure meeting you."

"Bye, see you all soon," I said as Edward practically dragged me to the door.

"Farewell, and remember next Saturday," Carlisle called.

I smiled back before Edward and I were finally out onto the porch the door closing behind us. He turned to me and grinned, "There, that wasn't so bad was it?"I

let out a whoosh of air and chuckled, relieved, "It could have been a lot worse." I admitted as we made for the car. "Thank you," I said.

"No," he said, his arm slithered around my waist, "Thank you."

**I'm a lot happier with that then I was the first time round...**

**Thank you for the favourites and alerts! You guys are amazing! **

**Bones**

**Random Fact # 6: I have been playing the cello since I was 7. It is only now that I can start playing the pieces that I want.**


	8. Learning

_Learning_

__A week passed after that first dinner with the Cullens. I found myself in the diner the next Saturday, having to do Julie's morning shift since she was off taking care of her sick baby. I thought that I could get off by 1, but I was wrong. Saturday lunchtime was always busy. There were people from the city with their squawking children, teenagers from the local area with nothing better to do and the aged regulars who sit and fart in the corner while ordering their steaks with a cold beer. In actual fact I usually enjoyed working at Newton's Olympic Diner. With its mint green sticky tables, pleather seats and the jukebox that only played Elvis when it worked, it had a certain weird charm. I was usually tipped well, it got me out of the house, I had nice co-workers (Angela Weber had always been one of the more pleasant teenagers I hung out with at school) and I got to see new people. Now… it was just fucking nightmare.

"Order up! Table 5," Bobby shouted from his steel kitchen, pushing steaming plates towards me. I scooped them up and whisked away to the rest of the restaurant. I reached the table, where a young family sat, "Cheese burger with fries, Caesar salad and chicken nuggets with fries. Enjoy," I fired off as I set the plates down. The mother of the family gave me a dirty look, her eyes flickering to my neck. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't cover up the bite mark with make up. I tried wearing a scarf but people cottoned on anyway to what I was hiding. So I bared it to the world, knowing I'd have to get used to people looking at my neck anyway. I gave her a tight smile before careening off through the diner. "Hey, waitress, another pitcher of beer over here!" some hillbilly waved an empty jug at me and I replied, "Right away sir."

My ankle had healed up pretty quickly, just like Cullen had promised, so I didn't have to limp around the diner. I collected dirty plates and wiped a table down with a rag cloth before rushing behind the counter to fill a pitcher full of beer. I rushed back to the table with it, nearly spilling it in the process. "There you go," I said setting the pitcher down, ignoring the dirty looks I was receiving from the table. I then turned to see one of my tables filled, two men dressed in neat clothes, one of them holding a large professional looking camera. Putting on a bright smile, I grabbed a couple of menus and hurried towards them, "Alright gentlemen, welcome to Newton's diner. If you need anything just holler."

"We'll take two beers," one of them said instantly, staring avidly at me. It was actually quite creepy. I gave them a confused smile and nodded, hurrying away to get their beers.

When I got back, I was greeted with a loud click and flash. It startled me and I nearly dropped the beer. "Isabella Swan, what do you have to say on your Marking? Why did you run? Is Edward forcing you to love him? Is money involved? Are you a victim of sexual or domestic abuse?" A tape recorder was shoved near my mouth and the guy with the camera continued to take pictures. The questions disorientated me for a minute and I stood there with my mouth open in shock.

When my wits finally returned, I raised the two glasses of sticky beer and dumped them over the heads of the journalists. They spluttered and the camera guy shrieked about his expensive camera. I slammed the glasses down on the table and stalked away, fuming over the nerve of the two journalists, or vultures. That was not the type of journalist I wanted to be. They were looking for a story, not the truth.

The diner's volume increased on all sides and my head was starting to pound. My heart was in my throat and my mouth was dry, so dry. I placed my trembling palms over my temples and closed my eyes, trying to calm down. This was all getting too much. Way too much.

But the bell at the door clanged, and I opened my eyes to see a group of 4 sweaty loggers entered the busy diner before settling into one of my tables. Licking my lips and ignoring my headache, I pulled out my notepad and headed towards their table. "What can I get you?" I asked in my best cheerful-tip-getting voice.

I was met with a stony silence. If looks could kill I would be a pile of dust on the floor. "No," one of them finally grunted at me, meaty slabs for hands curled on the table.

"Excuse me?" I asked, a crust of politeness covering my words.

"I'm not having a fucking vampwhore serving us. Get one of the other waitresses, not you," the worker all but shouted at me. The diner filled with a choking silence and I felt every pair of eyes on me.

"I'm sorry, Angela's busy, its me or nothing," I said coldly, "So what's it to be? Our specials today include a-"

The man who had spoken to me stood up sharply and shoved me backwards so that I nearly went tumbling but not before he grabbed the collar of my uniform green shirt so he could spit into my face, "You fucking slut, I should teach you lesson…"

He raised his fist and the whole diner took in a deep breath. The combination of the staring and whispers and journalists however made my own fist act of its own accord. I raised it high and smacked it into his nose. Cartilage and bone crunched beneath my knuckles and the beast of a man shrieked, clutching his now broken nose, "Not before I do." I snapped, as the man continued to howl. "Get the fuck out of my sight before I teach you what its like to be beaten up by a 18 year old white girl."

The logger's faces blanched and they bolted from the diner, the man with the broken nose still whimpering as his friends dragged him along. I watched them go before staring down at my knuckles, letting the astonished look surface to my face. I hadn't actually meant to break the guy's nose. It hadn't even hurt. It was meant to distract him long enough so I could run to the kitchen and get the baseball bat Bobby kept in case of an 'emergency'. I remembered Cullen vaguely mentioning that I would get stronger. He never mentioned how diner was still frozen silent and I said loudly, still looking at my hand, "Get back to your food people."

The diner instantly burst into loud chatter and Mrs Newton, my boss, grabbed my upper arm and bodily dragged me to her office. Mrs Newton was like the women on Desperate Housewives with wrinkles and a bad perm. Hair sprayed dyed blonde hair, red acrylic talons for nails, a heavily painted face that reminded me of the clowns at carnivals and clothes that were a little too tight for her. "What in God's name was that Isabella?" She cried, "Assaulting a customer? And pouring drinks deliberately over those other two? What the hell were you thinking?" Oh and she liked to call me Isabella, even though I've told her multiple times to call me Bella. Says it all really.

"The guy was about to beat the crap out of me, what else was I supposed to do?" I snapped back, "and I didn't mean to break his nose. I just wanted to distract him and-"

"I don't care what you were trying to do! These are our customers Isabella, and while they are in here we have to look after them! Not punch them and threaten them as if we are in a bar brawl. Honestly I don't know what has gotten into you." Her eyes flicked to my neck (which I'm really getting sick of) which told me she knew exactly what had 'gotten into' me.

"Fine, I won't do it again," I gestured towards the Diner again, "Could I go now, Angela must be up to her ears in-"

"Actually Isabella, we need to talk about your job," Mrs Newton smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."

I froze, staring at her opened mouthed. My eyes were beginning to sting again, my throat was thickening. This cannot be happening to me. It can't be happening to me. What did I do? How do I deserve this? On default my mouth retorted, "Are you shitting me?"

"No. Isabella I can't employ you anymore. I just can't afford it, y'know with the recession and-"

"Oh don't give me that!" I shouted at her, my hurt fuelling the anger, "It's because I'm now Marked, isn't it?"

She licked her lips before saying through a pursed mouth, "It's bad for business-"

"Oh for fuck sake," I hissed, collapsing into one of the armchairs in front of her desk, "First, your fucktard of a son and now you."

"How dare you-!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, how dare I insult your angel of a son, blah blah blah. Honestly lady, if you knew half of the things I knew, you wouldn't be singing his praises, that's for sure. Man, the stuff that kid's done…" I shuddered for effect, "It would make a prostitute squeamish."

She pursed her lips before pointing to the door, "Collect your things from the locker room and when you get a chance, send me your shirt and apron. The new girl will get them." She might as well have slapped me in the face. I snapped my jaw shut and stared at her for a good few minutes speechless. I felt another part of my life slip through my fingers like water and the urge to weep came over me. My headache increased and I felt so very hot at that point, like I was about to burst into flames. But I don't show weakness to anyone I don't trust. Ever. "Fine," I said, forcing my voice to be devoid of emotion. Her eyebrows rose in surprise and she gave me a tentative smile as if I was a bomb that she thought she had deactivated. I smiled serenely at her and moved towards the door, "I guess I'll be going."

"Thank you, I'll help Angela for the rest of the day. You've been very mature about this Isabella. I wasn't expecting it."

I couldn't think of an answer for that so remained silent. I went to the locker room, gathered my things. Angela saw me briefly before I left the locker room. Just by looking at my face once she knew. She hugged me (something completely unexpected on my part) and told me earnestly: "That wasn't fair. Totally not your fault about those loggers or those journalists. I would have done something, I should have done something..."

As Angela continued to talk, I remained quiet. In this kind girl's arms, I wanted to bury my head into her shoulder and weep. I wanted to tell her everything that was going on, tell her what I felt and for her to tell me that everything was going to be ok. But the last thing I wanted to do was drag her in as well. I didn't want sweet Angela Weber, pastor's daughter, to share the grief of being a Corpse Bride. So I gently extracted myself from her arms and told her softly in the middle of her tirade, "its not your fault Ang, it was coming anyway. I have to get going, or the She-bitch is going to go apeshit."

She giggled nervously, her face turning pink as I uttered the curses. She then said, "I'll see you at school," before she slipped quietly away into the diner. I took a deep breath, wiped my eyes surreptitiously and finally gathered my things to leave I exited the diner through the restaurant, aware of everyone staring at me. But I did one thing before leaving, as a parting gift to my boss.

"Yo! People!" I called over the chattering diner finally gaining their attention. They all stared at me and again I felt like I should have been a pile of ashes on the floor. "Just to warn you, the meat in your burgers and steak has been sitting in the freezer for, oooohhh… about 8 months now. It was looking a little green and smelling something awful this morning, but Mrs Newton told Bobby to cook it anyway. Her exact words were: 'They won't notice the difference. They're dumb hillbillies and rednecks that can't tell the difference between normal meat and roadkill.' Those were her exact words, I swear to god." The entire diner stared at me in shock, Mrs Newton stood behind the counter, her face the colour of puce. I wasn't lying, maybe exaggerating a little, but not lying. She had told Bobby this morning to put out old meat but she hadn't said the customers were hillbillies and rednecks. "Anyway, enjoy your meals y'all!" I said cheerfully, before stepping outside, the bell jangling and the screams of people spitting out their food, landing on my ears.

My eyes flickered to my watch and realised I should have been at Dr. Cullen's lesson half an hour ago. Being fired and nearly beaten up took a lot longer than it should have. Swearing, I stumbled to my car, fumbled for the keys, hopped into the front seat and scrabbled around to get the thing started. The engine whined at me before starting, and I pushed it out of the parking lot, deliberately crashing into the plastic model of the fisherman by the entrance of the parking lot along the way. I continued to cuss as the Beast's speedometer refused to rise above 50. "Stupid motherfucking car," I snarled at the steering wheel, smacking my hands again the warm plastic

.As soon as I pulled into the gravel parkway, I jumped out of the cab. My head smacked into the frame of the car door, "Holy-motherfucking-shit-arse-head-and-hole!" I all but screamed as my head began to throb even more. Clutching my head I ran towards the front door, ringing the bell insistently until Alice finally opened it for me."You are really late, you know that?" she said chirpily, as I stumbled across the threshold.

"Of course I fucking know that!" I snapped at her, "Where is he?"

"In his office. Its up the stairs on the left. His name is on the door. I suggest you don't swear at him," she said as I galloped up the stairs.

I didn't answer her but tripped onto the first landing. I sprinted to the left and found the door pronouncing, Dr. C. R. Cullen. Not bothering to knock I stumbled through the imposing door.

"You're late," Dr. Cullen said flatly, not looking up from the papers on his desk

.I swallowed before saying in my most respectful voice, "I'm sorry. There was-"

"You forgot," he said, before licking his fingers and turning the pages of some important and extremely dull looking document. I chewed on the inside of my cheek before heading towards the dark leather chair opposite his desk.

"No, I got harassed by journalists, attacked by loggers and got fired. I was a little preoccupied," I snapped, glaring holes in his head. I was so not up to dealing with grumpy vampire bullshit. He glanced up at that, his eyes unreadable before he returned his focus on the documents again.

Prick

.My eyes swept around his office, taking in the large pictures of various different landscapes and cities along the back wall. The right wall was covered with bookshelves made of oak, filled with leather volumes that looked like they were once new when Columbus discovered America. The left wall had a view that overlooked a sprawling garden, complete with sparkling fountain and bursting flowerbeds, a set of mahogany drawers beneath the picture window. The desk was also mahogany and lined with green leather, a couple of picture frames dotted the surface, their subjects facing away from me. It wasn't entirely what I was expecting. I thought he would be more into torture chamber décor. You know: chains hanging on the walls with instruments meant to cause extreme pain lying on tables.

"So tell me Bella, what do you know of vampire hierarchy," Dr Cullen suddenly asked me, shifting his papers off to one side and staring at me evenly with custard coloured eyes.

Licking my lips, I replied, "Not a lot. I didn't even know there was a hierarchy."

He suddenly got up and walked to the windows, to stare out over the garden. "There are over 20 different territories in the world that are ruled by covens chosen by the Vampire Royal family. These covens have complete control over any vampire within that territory and decide affairs of vampire concern only. We take no part in human affairs. You don't need to know all of covens, only the ones that matter."

I quickly out two and two together and said, "Because let me guess: you rule North America?"

He chuckled satisfactorily, "And Mexico." He pivoted to face me again, "You better write these down. Can't have you mixing with our foes instead of our friends."

I scrabbled for my waitress notepad that I still had and began to copy down what he next said: "Two of these covens we consider our true friends. The Denali Coven rule over Canada and Alaska inclusively, although they are originally from Russia. The patriarch of the family: Nikita and his mate Sasha live in Canada with two of their sons and their mates. You have probably heard of the third son: Garrett. It was during a visit here that he Marked Kate and refused to leave until she had finished with her education. He is here under our protection. He lives just down the road from us with Kate. The Denalis have been our good friends for over 400 years and have helped us with a few scrapes of our own and vice versa.

"And finally the Bell Coven. Their territory comprises of the British Isles. A very ancient family, they have influences stretching across the world. The patriarch is Liam Bell, his mate Siobhan and their three sons: Hector, Aaron and Jack. Hector and Jack are mated: the former to Maggie and most recently the latter to a girl the same age as you: Agatha. I knew Liam before America was discovered. When it was, he sent me over to quickly get vampire influence settled in America."These are the vampires you can trust wholly Bella. They are our friends, and in a world like ours, that is rare." He finished his lecture, taking a quick glance over my shoulder to read my notes. "Good. All other vampire covens cannot be trusted: the Xi Coven, they rule all the oriental states, the Yulara Coven, they rule Australia and New Zealand, the Rahotep Coven, they rule the whole continent of Africa, the entirety of South America is divided between a myriad of covens, only one posing a real threat: the coven that rule the entirety of Amazon forest, the Pantanal coven. And then finally the Volturi."

"Oh! Isn't that…Aro Volturi? He was the one who…" I hesitated, remembering his illuminated face on the T.V. screen, the one who made heart pound and fear thrum through my veins. "Is he an enemy?"

He shook his head, "No, he is the man I answer to. The Volturi is the Royal Family I was talking about earlier. Their territory stretches across most of western Europe but their…Palace is in Volterra, Italy. They are one of the oldest vampire families in the world. Aro is the leader with his brothers: Marcus and Caius. They rule every vampire in the world: their word is law. They each have mates but no children. However they do have a guard: rather like the Swiss Guard in the Vatican. They are charged with protecting the Royals. You do not want to make them angry." He walked to the back wall where the pictures were, looking in particular at the largest one. It looked like it was done during the renaissance era. It was set in a large marble with a balcony overlooking people celebrating. On the balcony, four people watched them, two with long jet hair and one with snow white hair. Only one had golden blonde hair, who I recognised as Carlisle, "I stayed with them once, when I was a young man. The things I saw…"

I scribbled all this down but frowned when I noticed he'd missed something out, "What about the Slavic states? Russia? Kazakhstan? Eastern Europe?"

He smirked, as if pleased of me, "Very good Bella." He turned to face me, something gleaming in his eyes, "did you know that there is a war going on, Bella? And its been going on for 2000 years?"

"Really?" I asked, shocked, "Why? Who's in it?"

He pulled the chair out again and sat, clasping his hands on the desk, "The history is long. The Petrov Coven are thought to be the first vampires to ever exist, but there is no real proof of who was the first, the Volturi or the Petrov. They however believe that they are the oldest coven in the world. Thus they think that they have the right to be the ones who rule the vampire world rather than the Volturi. They challenged the Volturi and the Volturi accepted the challenge. That was 2000 years ago. It has been called the War of Sticks and Stones, and has been the bloodiest in our history. Its fought on the borders of the Petrov territory and they have been losing bits and pieces of it over the years to the surrounding areas. They're weakening but it is thought that this war still has many years to go. No one has seen the leaders of the Petrov coven for years. We're not even sure if they're alive or not." He sighed, "It is not a war I support and Aro knows it."

"Why don't you support it?" I asked. I found myself suddenly fascinated with the vampire world. It was far more complex than I could ever have imagined. They weren't just a part of the human world. They had a whole world to themselves, with their own laws and concerns.

"Well…" he said evenly, "There are too few of us to continue fighting a war that should have ended years ago. Too many good vampires have been slaughtered because of it, many of them friends of mine. And the Elders don't understand that some disputes can be resolved through words rather than violence." He sighed heavily, suddenly looking tired with the whole ordeal.

There was a silence as he stared out into the garden again, lost in his own thoughts. My eyes swept across the room again, wondering about who Dr Cullen had met, where he'd been, what he'd done. My eyes settled on the picture of what looked like a canal in the middle of an ancient city. Gondolas floated on the gold and silver water, their boatmen standing precariously on them. The cream and red buildings were like floating sails on the water. The people stood on the walkways and bridges like multi-coloured insects and butterflies. To me it was very obvious what the painting was depicting. I could almost hear the sounds of the water lapping against the bricks, the melodious chattering and laughing of the people, the smell of saltwater and perfumes, feel the heat of Italian sun. "What's Venice like?" I blurted out.

His head snapped to me, surprise etched on him, "Why do you ask?"

I nodded towards the picture, "I thought you've been and I've always wanted to go. I heard it's sinking. I want to see it before it goes completely."

He paused, still surprised by the question, "I visited it in the summer with Esme, 50 years ago or so. It was very hot, the air was like a blanket it was so hot. The sun made everything so bright. The people were bright too, they made you feel as if the world could not be a more beautiful place."

"Oh… maybe one day I'll go then. Sounds nice," I stared at my pad again as the blush crept up my neck.

"Maybe Edward will take you," Dr Cullen said.

"Yeah…maybe…" I muttered.

As if he knew we were talking about him, Cullen burst into the room looking livid. "What are you doing?" he seethed, grabbing the top of my arm and hoisting me out of my seat.

"What the fuck? Cullen, what the hell are you doing?" I yelped, as his fingers began to bite into my flesh.

"Edward calm down, you need to control yourself," Dr Cullen said quite evenly, he hadn't even flinched when Cullen had practically broke down the door.

"What are you doing alone with her? What?" he shouted, fangs on full show, eyes now like dark tunnels. His hand was beginning to tighten around my arm, he was getting close to breaking it.

"Cullen, stop it! You're hurting me!" I pleaded, clawing at his hand with my free one. It was getting too much again. My ears were beginning to ring, taunts from that day rattling inside my head. My heart was in my mouth again, thick and strong. I wanted to run. I wanted to get into my truck, start driving and never look back.

"Edward, listen to your consort. She's in pain, that should be your concern now, not me," Dr Cullen continued to speak calmly.

Cullen stared hard at his father before his eyes flickered to me. His grip began to loosen before it dropped and he tried cup my face. My wits about me now, fury descended over the fear, dowsing it in one fell swoop. I slapped his hands away and shouted at him, "Don't you touch me! What the fuck was that Cullen? Why the fuck were you trying to break my arm?"

He looked just as angry as I felt then and replied, "You are alone with another vampire!"

I stared at him, my mouth agape. "You seriously thought I would be getting it on with your dad. That's just fu-"

"Not that! He could have been hurting you-"

I cut him off, "Goddammit Cullen, he is your dad! You knew he was giving me lessons about the vampire world. There was no fucking need to break the door down."

His look of anger quickly melted away to reveal guilt, "I'm sorry Bella."

He tried to reach for me but I shrank away from him, bracing my fists. "Don't make yourself the second person I punch today, just don't you dare."

Edward's eyes widened, before his fangs descended again and he growled, "who tried to attack you?" The whole snarling thing did not help with the whole trying-not-to-have-a-panic-attack thing. I pushed my hands shakily through my hair and swallowed several times to get my mouth wet again. Dr Cullen put in, "she said she just got fired, harassed by reporters and attacked by loggers."

"WHAT?" Edward roared and I couldn't help but let out a little scream as he seemed to double in size. I cowered away from him, clutching my still throbbing arm as Edward seethed in the middle of the room.

"Edward, control yourself," Dr Cullen was doing the crazy thing of drawing closer to the vampire who was practically frothing at the mouth he was so angry. I cowered back and took cover by the bookshelf, trembling against the old tomes. Dr Cullen said evenly again, "there is no use in getting this angry Edward. She's safe now and no more harm is going to come to her now that you are close. Think rationally, man. Look to your consort instead of having a temper tantrum."

Temper tantrum? A fucking temper tantrum?

Edward seemed to deflate after he took in Dr Cullen's words. He finally turned to me, and he deflated even further, a sorry-ass look on his face. Seeing as how he was no longer spitting fire, I got up from the bookcase, eyeing him warily. He rubbed a hand over his face, his eyes almost black as they looked at me, "why didn't I feel anything?" he asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

"She's an anomaly," Dr Cullen said quietly, "you will probably never get to feel when she is in danger or being harmed."

Edward seemed to shudder and he tried to reach out to me again, "Bella...I-"

"Fuck off," I told him bluntly, gathering up my stuff and stalking out the room, "next time you go caveman, do it in the middle of fucking nowhere, away from me."

I left before he could reply and practically ran into Alice in the hall outside. My eyes were tingling and I blinked several times to stop the tears from falling. _Don't fucking cry now, pussy. Grow some fuckin' ovaries, you big pansy. This is nothing we can't handle._ "Whoa Bella, what's the matter?" she asked, grabbing my shoulders.

"Nothing new, just had a shit day and pissed off at Cullen," I growled, placing my hand over my thundering heart and rubbing it as it seemed to ache.

_So tired_.

"I know: men. What can you do?" she asked, rolling her eyes and smiling sympathetically, "C'mon this way, we'll cheer you up."

She grabbed my hands and pulled me along as I protested, "No, Alice I have homework to do and I have tidy up at home and-"

"Oh Bella hush, that can all be done later. What you need is chocolate, a corny rom-com, a bunch of girlfriends and a large margarita. You don't need to be psychic to know that you have had a shit day."

"You know I don't drink," I said drily, reluctantly giving into her idea of therapy.

She eventually pulled me into what appeared to be a cinema. The walls were painted a dark red colour, with a matching carpet, sofas and beanbags littering the floor. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey were practising lifts in the middle of a lake upon a large cinematic screen. The smell of popcorn and nail polish filtered through the air as Rose and Kate sat on the beanbags, carefully painted their toenails. "Girls, look who needs cheering up," Alice chirped.

"What's happened?" Rose asked, patting the bean bag next to her, "Tell us all about it. Kate, get her a drink."Before I knew it, I was settled into the beanbag, my converses kicked off in front of me, a cold margarita in one hand and I found myself telling them everything that happened in Carlisle's office and what happened before.

Once finished, they began to reassure me. "That has to be the shittiest day I have ever heard in my life ," Rose said sincerely, as we were all gathered close. "Though I would have fucking loved to see they're faces when you poured beer all over those journalists." She cackled, grinning widely, "pricless."

"That wasn't right of Newton," Kate said emphatically, "think about it this way: you're better off without her and her stupid job."

Really? Well there goes my college fund. Must be nice to have a dead great aunt who gave you a shit load of money for college, Kate.

Aw shit, she's only trying to be nice.

"And on top of Edward being worried like that..." Alice clucked her tongue sympathetically.

"They're always like that at the beginning: super jealous and super protective," Rose said, waving her hand dismissively, "Emmy nearly drained a guy for looking at me in a certain way. All you have to be is patient with him and tell him what he is doing is wrong."

"Exactly, all the reason goes out of them in the first few weeks. Honestly, they're no better cavemen. Mind you, the sex is fucktastic in the first few weeks. I guess it makes up for the bullshit," Kate said.

"Well I'm not having sex with Cullen am I? And it's not the fact he was being a jealous overprotective shithead. It was the fact that he hurt me." I pulled the T-shirt sleeve up and stared at the reddish blots, some of them already turning purple, shaped like a hand. I brandished the bruise at them, "Did your vampires ever do this to you?"

There was a silence before Alice said, "Maybe because you're different. He's so worried that he is doing something wrong to make you hate him that he overreacts to everything. He doesn't want to let you go, that's why he held on so hard."

I hesitated before saying, "So that makes it acceptable for him to bruise me then?"

All three shook their head violently, "Of course not!" Rose said, "But maybe it'll help you understand why. He's just as confused as you are. But he doesn't mean any harm to you."

I stared at the perspiring glass of my drink before thinking: fuck it you only live once, and I quickly downed the drink in a oner. The tangy sweet flavour danced on my tongue and I took a deep shuddering breath. My anger had simmered down somewhat; I was no longer shaking like a leaf with it.

"Bella?"

I snapped my head around to see Cullen standing by the door looking as guilty as ever. "What?" I snapped.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, hanging by his side.

"Go Bella, give him a chance to explain," Alice whispered next to me.

I gritted my teeth before hoisting myself up and stomping past him into the corridor. He followed me until we were a few feet away from the cinema room. I faced him and folded my arms defensively making my face into a stone mask. He stood there in all of his guilty glory, his eyes sea green in colour, bronze hair askew and his face as perfect as ever. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to react that way to where you were."

I snorted, "didn't mean to? Just like you didn't mean to nearly break my arm? Yeah right and I'm Oprah."

He froze for minute before whispering, "let me see." He gestured to my arm.I took the sleeve of my shirt and ripped it upwards showing him the handprint hat stained my skin. His eyes widened and they darkened to a teal colour. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-oh." He clenched his jaw and lifted trembling fingers to the blemish. I shrank away from him his eyes flickered to me. "I just want to make it better sweetheart, I swear. I would never intentionally hurt you. Just please, let me make it better."

I hesitated, staring into his eyes for what felt like years before letting him take my arm. He took my hand first, kissing each fingertip, then my palm. His lips trailed a hot path up my wrist, following a blue vein to the crease of my elbow. He finally reached the throbbing bruise, which he peppered with warm soothing kisses. I watched the bruise fade away into nothing. He pulled away, his lips tugging into a little smile, his eyes begging for forgiveness, "Your skin's like porcelain. It should never be bruised. It makes me sick to know that I bruised you. I should be stopping the bruises not causing them."

He honestly looked like he was about to cry. I stared into his face, that face that was so twisted with guilt and worry. He clasped his hands as if he was about to get down on his knees and beg. My head was also having this nice warm glow you get from being slightly tipsy, thus making me have a more forgiving stance on things. "Aw shit, you stupid son of a bitch," I growled, before wrapping my arms tightly around his chest. I stroked his hair as his arms hooked around my waist and lifted me up, so that my bare toes grazed his oxfords. "You ever treat me like that again, I will rip you a new asshole, you understand?"

I felt him smile against my neck and he kissed my temple, "I understand."

"You better, I won't stand for it," I said before letting my arms loose and he took it as a sign to let me down.

"Let me make it up to you," he said, as I stepped back from him. I had sudden a vision of Cullen in a pair of boxers while grinning devilishly at me, the phrase _the sex is fucktastic in the first few weeks_… reverberating around my head. I shook my head to get the vision out of my head: focus Bella.

"How?" I asked, still trying to get the growing contagious ideas out of my mind.

"How about a date? I'll take you somewhere nice and we'll get to know each other a little better. Somewhere where we can be alone. How about it? I'll spoil you," he smiled at me, white teeth glinting in the light.

"Uh…I don't like going on dates much. The ones I've had have been shit."

"I promise to break that cycle," he said, "I'll make you feel like the only girl in the world. How about it?"

Aw shit, its that face again. The face that I'm finding I can't say no to. "Fine, whatever. What time you picking me up at?"

He beamed at me before saying, "Next Saturday, 7 o'clock your house, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, clicking my back before heading for the cinema room, "I'm going to continue watching Dirty Dancing, if that's alright with you?"

"That's fine. Wear something pretty on Saturday," he called after me.

"Mhm," I said, giving him a thumbs up.

I pushed through to the cinema room only to be met with squeals. "We have so much to talk about and do!" Alice exclaimed.

Ah well, could be worse.

**There ya go! Date is up next! **

**Bones**

**Random fact # 7: when I'm tired or drunk, my Scottish accents gets thicker. True story.**


	9. Meadows

_Meadows_

The day of the date did not start out well. Charlie was out at work early in the morning, Cullen was nowhere to be seen and we were low on groceries. I went out to the local Wal-Mart and had middle-aged soccer moms hiss and glare at me over the frozen foods: "Look away children, look away. That's what happens when you don't pray to Jesus." One cashier lady refused to serve me. She jabbed her finger to the one next to her and said, "I ain't serving no vampwhores. You're a traitor to your own race." It took a lot of my self-control not to throw the tomatoes I'd bought into her face. I didn't want to be escorted out of the building by security. On the way out, my eyes snagged on the new-stand just by the door, showing the tabloids of the day. My shocked face was plastered all over the front, beers in hand, with most of the titles screaming: _THE GIRL WHO RAN: REVEALED!_

I suddenly felt like every pair of eyes in the grocery store was on me. I felt hot all over, I wanted to vomit into the wilting begonias in the next stand over.

I sprinted to my car as fast as possible and shoved the bags into the front before screeching the Beast away. Anger and shame were all mashed up inside me and my entire body was shaking with it.

The whole world was in on my demise. It was their entertainment.

The unpleasant grocery trip set my mood for the rest of the day. To try and work off some of my anger I began to scrub and clean out the bathroom, the kitchen sink, surfaces and floor and the oven until my hands were raw and red. Anger turned into self pity and tears dripped into the soapy water I was using.

Jake found me several hours later, carrying a Chinese takeout. I was on my knees in front of the oven, my head in the stove and he honestly thought I was trying to kill myself. He yanked me up, my head smacking into the stove roof. The air around me practically turned blue, I was swearing so much. He yelped when he realised he had hurt me, we both sank to the floor and he cradled me while my eyes streamed and my nose ran with pain and misery into his Rolling Stones t-shirt. "So much for Cullen taking care of you," he muttered, stroking my hair, "He's done fuck all, hasn't he?"

I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand, "I think he's gone out to prepare for tonight. I just- I went to the Wal-Mart and p-people…" I didn't need to continue because just by how his body stiffened, he already knew. "I thought it would get better. That I would get used to it. It just fucking hurts. It hurts when people I've known all my life give me shit for something I can't control."

He continued to caress my hair, running his fingers through it. "If you want, me and the boys can go beat them up for you. No one messes with our Hell Bells. I don't think I've seen you this upset since your Gran died."

I didn't answer him, but snuggled in closer to his hot body, fingers winding into his shirt. He continued to hold me and something was telling me that he was enjoying this more than he should. But I didn't care.

"Come on, come with me to La Push beach. I've got spring rolls, king prawn chow mein, dim sum, egg and special fried rice, the list goes on. Come on, I'll cheer you up." I nodded in a way of journey to La Push was a blur in the Volkswagen rabbit and I told him everything that had been on my mind lately: the date, school, vampire politics, the media, the words just kept coming out in one long stream. I'm not even sure if any of it made sense. He listened in quietly and was quick with a comforting word or squeeze of my hand when I paused for breath. It was only when we got to the beach did things start to get shaky.

"So…you're going on a date with him. Tonight. I thought you said you would have nothing to do with the leech," Jake said to me as we sat on a rug on the beach, facing out to the Pacific Ocean. The Chinese plastic containers sat between us and Jake had smuggled some beer from his father's cabinet, for himself of course, while I had a coke. The portable radio was playing some local station loudly, another rug spread across our knees. Weak sunlight streamed across us and the iron-grey sea sparkled with the little light. It felt amazing to be alone with Jake. It was nice to know that at least one part of my life was still same. He more or less treated me the same, in fact we hardly talked about me being Marked. And if we did it was called 'the thing'.

"Well that was before the thing happened," I sighed, swilling my coke around my bottle. "I'm expected to be with Cullen for the rest of my now immortal life. I've to get to know him or my life is going to be on the worst side of shit." I sucked on my coke, watching the seagulls peck at discarded sandwich wrappings.

There was a pause, and I could tell it was one of his thinking pauses. "But you'll have me, so you don't need to get close to him. All you have to do is get close to me."

My stomach clenched in on itself, tying into tight knots. Jake had always hinted that he wanted me on more than friendly terms, ever since we hit puberty. I could never return those feelings. Never. He was my brother in all but blood. But all because of a stupid mistake made a year ago, his feelings only became stronger. So I did the only things I could when I was in a situation like this, to put him off. I became the bitch.

"Well you're not immortal, are you? So that's kind of a moot point," I said brutally, my stomach twisting tighter again.

He glared at me hurtfully, reminding me of a beaten dog, "So far as you know.""And what the hell's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

He ground his teeth together so hard I could hear the grating, "Doesn't matter, can't tell you anyway."

"What? What can't you tell me?" I asked, frustration straining my words.

"None of your fucking business Bella," he said and he was up and away before I could get a word in. He stomped down the pebbled beach, his warm coffee coloured skin a shocking contrast against the grey.

Ice drenched my veins and I scrambled up and stumbled after him, sneakers slipping in the wet stones. "Jake wait! Please, don't be angry with me. I'm sorry. You know what I'm like when I'm in a shit mood. I say things I don't mean. Please come back!" He didn't. He disappeared into the forest that met the edge of the beach.

My foot slipped on a slime-covered rock and gravity came upon me with full force. I crashed onto the pebbles, hands scraping on the sharp rocks, knees battering against the beach. "Agh! Fuck!"I pulled myself up staring at my bloodied hands, salt water and blood making the lacerations sting. I shivered in the damp cold air, tears welling up again as I began to wallow in misery. The cuts healed quickly just like most of my scrapes and cuts do nowadays, but the blood remained, staining my skin crimson. Pulling my knees up, I wrapped my arms around them and buried my head into my arms.

Jake and I sometimes have these arguments. Where we get so angry at each other we can hardly speak. Sometimes when I'm feeling righteous I grill him about the weed, which really pisses him off. He tells me I'm sometimes a cold-hearted bitch, which really pisses me off. We don't talk to each other for a while, depending how bad the fight was. But in the end we always reconcile. We don't even need to say sorry.

Jake didn't come back for a while. It started to drizzle, the freezing water trickling down my neck. I was cold and damp when he came trudging back. He pulled up my shivering body and pulled me inside the warmth of his leather jacket. He smelt of forest and smoke and something distinctly animal, like wet dog. Odd. "You can be such a bitch sometimes, you know that?" he said bluntly, stroking my hair again.

"Fuck you," I mumbled as he began to walk me backwards, "Not my fucking fault. The world is being a bitch to me.""You're freezing, what the hell were you doing, sitting in the rain?"

Considering suicide. Or a vacation to a far, far, far away land where I don't ever return. "Felt like it," I said, pulling away from him, "where d'you go?"

"Went for a walk," he said. He was lying. I could tell. The way he refused to look at me as we reached the abandoned picnic. It was the first time he had ever lied to me. A cold feeling sank into my gut and coiled around it. If Jake was lying to me, things had gone badly wrong.

"I should go," I said quietly, "Charlie should be getting home by now. Alice is coming to meet me at home to give me the date dress."

"Ok," he replied, still avoiding eye contact with me. We cleared the picnic in silence. We drove to my place in silence. I stared out the window, bending towards the car heaters as close as possible, trying to heat up my trembling fingers, the knuckles now blue from cold.

He didn't look at me, staring fixedly at the road. When we arrived at home, I got out the car, waving goodbye before trudging up to the house, feeling utterly dejected. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway and I was about to pass it when I saw what was scratched on the hood. Anger bubbled up and made a red mist descend over my vision. I stomped up the porch stairs and slammed into the house. Charlie jumped up startled from the couch in loving room, watching the ice hockey game on the TV. "Bella, what-"

"What the fuck is on your car?" I demanded, stomping in front of the TV so he could look at me. Charlie frowned at me, hand still holding his beer, "what have I told you about swe-"

"Just answer the question," I fumed, tapping my foot as I waited for a reply.

Charlie swallowed, shrinking in on himself in the chair. My heart twisted painfully. I hated seeing my dad like this. He didn't deserve this. No one deserves this. "Just some kids, that's all."

"How do 'kids' know how to scratch, 'fang-fucker' on the hood of a police cruiser?" I said slowly and quietly. Charlie looked so defeated at that point. My dad, protector of the good people of Forks, the man who put his life and soul into making sure people could sleep safely at night, was having the very people he is guarding, turn on him.

Selfish, ignorant, stupid, cunts.

Curse and ostracise me all you want, but turn on my dad and I will find some way to gut you.

That's a promise.

"Listen, just don't say anything, alright? It was the Mayor's son and I could easily lose my job if I press charges. Just drop it, alright?" he clenched his jaw as he finished speaking, before taking a swig of his beer.

I tried to protest, "But Dad-"

"I said _drop it_," he practically growled at me.

My throat closed up, my eyes burned. For what felt like the thousandth time, I thought about how unfair this all was. And how it was all my fault. I sat next to him on the couch and placed my head in his lap, tucking my knees up onto the couch as well, in one of those rare moments we showed this sort of affection to each other. I hadn't done this since Grandma Swan died. He shakily threaded his hands through my hair, the noise of the LA Kings and the New Jersey Vultures surrounded us. There was nothing more to be said.

Hours later, Alice arrived, carrying a dry cleaners bag and a shoe box, "Come on! 2 hours until the date, we have no time to lose! To your room, tout suite!"She continued to babble as she pushed me upstairs and into my bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She continued to chat as she began to primp my hair. I listened; her cheerful voice was the only loud noise. I didn't tell her about Jake or Dad's car and she didn't ask, which I was grateful for. I didn't want to go into the gory details with anyone at the moment.

She did my make up, hair, fingernails and toenails before leaving me to change into the dress and shoes. "Thank you Alice. I again owe you one."

"Honestly, its my pleasure. Edward's been preparing all day. You are going to have an amazing time. Edward has to be the most romantic out of the three brothers. You will not be disappointed." Her grey eyes were wide with excitement.

"Uhm…cool. Where's he taking me?" I asked.

She pressed a finger to her lips, a mischievous gleam in her eye, "I'm not allowed to tell you. You go get dressed now and I want a viewing after." She slipped out of the room before I could ask her further.

I sighed and pulled the dress out of the garment bag. It was a mismatch of purple, green and grey chiffon, a black and white tie around the waist. There was bunched fabric around the v-neckline and short sleeves and the skirt fell to just above the knee. It was unusual and beautiful and I found myself falling in love with it. I slipped it on before pulling out a pair of grey peep toe heals with a black and wiped striped lining. I balked at the size of the heels but slipped them on anyway. I then stepped tentatively out into the hallway, wobbling on the high heels. I heard Alice's birdlike voice from the kitchen and then heard Charlie's gruff tone reply to her. I managed to get down the stairs and into the kitchen without toppling over.

Alice squealed on sight, crying, "Bella, you look amazing! We just need the finishing touches." She bustled to the table again, while Charlie stared at me, as if I had emerged from a UFO. Poor Charlie, he's not used to me dressing like this. He's faced with the moral dilemma that most fathers of young daughters go through: he wants his young daughter to be his pretty little girl who still wears party dresses but he doesn't want me to grow up and be pretty around boys. Especially vampire boys. Ones who have Marked his daughter. "Wow, Bella. You look real nice," he managed to say, his face flushing red as the words slipped from his mouth like awkward bricks.

I appreciated it anyway and smiled back at him as Alice hurried back again, "Earrings, pashmina, ring and clutch," she said, dropping a pair of dangly grey stone earrings. While I was putting them in, she held up a blue almond shaped ring, which I also slipped onto my right ring finger, before finally taking the purple clutch bag and a black pashmina from her small hands.

"Thank you Alice," I said, grateful relief intoning my words, "You are an angel."

"Sent from heaven, I know," she said, waving her hands as if it was nothing, "He'll be here any minute now."

"Right," I said, sitting myself gingerly at the table. This was the first time I had ever been on a date. I usually turned them down, mostly because I was disgusted with the guys who asked me, (Eric's face looks like pepperoni pizza and Tyler has acquired the name: 'The Octopus' amongst all the girls). I'd often overheard other girls talk about their dates, how they would coo at the romantics of it (red roses shoved into hands before dinner at Newton's Diner. Then a round of fumbled groping in the back of some car on a dark road) or squawk about the disaster (bottles of beer and boxes of pizza in the back of some car on a dark road, the boy suddenly lurching forward to squeeze a breast like it was a stress ball). I wondered what Cullen would do. Something told me he wasn't into sudden molestation or sticky fried food. It made me wonder what he did think of romance.

"You nervous?" Alice asked, eyes sparkling.

"No," I said honestly, "I think we need this. Just something as normal as a date. Next to everything else that has happened, this is a piece of piss."

"Not even a little bit? I was so nervous when Jazz took me out for the first time," Alice gushed, "I still remember it. He took me on a yacht and we had champagne, I mean I had champagne, and we went stargazing and there was a whole serving staff and then we…" she trailed off and blushed, glancing at Charlie embarrassedly before continuing, "You are going to have an amazing time."

I smiled at her, glad she hadn't said the s-word in front of my father. That would have been too much for him. "Well I'm not too fussed really. So long as he doesn't do anything too terrible."

The doorbell suddenly rang and we all jumped in our seats. "Good luck, Bella! Have an amazing time," Alice said gripping my hands tightly, "just be yourself."

"Be safe Bells. You know what to do if things get…heated," Charlie managed to splutter out, his face the colour of a stop sign.

I grimaced at him, saying, "Too much dad, too much."

I tottered back down the hall, making the use of furniture as I walked. I got to the door, steadying myself before opening it.

If beauty could be put into human form, it would come in form of Edward Cullen standing on my doorstep. Dressed in a simple black suit with a white shirt that encased the hard masculine lines that was his body, he leaned casually against a porch post. Eyes the colour of pine needles glittered at me, his penny coloured hair in its usual windswept manner. The masculine features were set into a crooked smile, which widened into a full grin as he caught sight of me.

"Good evening, Bella," he murmured, pushing away from the porch post to take a step closer to me.

I didn't reply, my mind was a pile of jellied mess inside my head, it was still trying to comprehend what is was seeing. It could not be possible that any species could look this stunning.

He smirked, as if he knew what I was thinking, before holding out his hand to me, "Come, the evening awaits us."

I took his hand, smiling but remaining silent, not trusting my mouth to blurt out something stupid. Once my hand was in the strong embrace of his, he pulled it up to meet his lips, they felt like warm summer petals against my fingers. He then pulled me gently down the stairs, my fingers trailing the door shut.

"You're quiet tonight, I half expected you to insult me by now in some elaborate way. Is something wrong?"

"Had a rough day, that's all," I muttered, "I just− wow. That's some car you got there Cullen.

"He chuckled as an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish gleamed black in the driveway of our house. As we walked towards it, the sleek shape of it looked so out of place next to the police cruiser and The Beast. "You like her?"

I raised my eyebrows at him, "her?"

He grinned, running his hand lovingly across the bonnet, "let's just say she's my baby. I only take her out for special for special occasions."

"So I constitute as a special occasion?" I asked, trailing my fingers across the bonnet as well.

"What kind of question is that?" he asked, his fingers trailing forward to meet contact sent pleasure braiding its way through my blood, coiling itself in my stomach. We stared at each other for a good moment, his eyes darkening to a dark green that reminded me of rain forests. His face swam closer to mine, I could taste his peppermint breath on my sound of a car door slamming down the road jolted me out of my trance. I took a step back my eyes darting away from the intense look on his face. "You gonna drive your baby for me?" I asked, breaking the tension.

He cleared his throat, seeming to compose himself before saying, "It will be my pleasure Bella."

He opened the car door for me, holding my hand as I slid in, shutting the door behind me. Within the next millisecond he was in the driving seat. I ran my fingers over the leather seating, as he started the car, the engine growling like a tiger.

He put the car in gear and drove away from the familiar lights of my house. 'Well,' I thought, 'no turning back now.'

The car rumbled smoothly through darkening streets, the few people tried to peer in through the windows. The windows being tinted, I had this weird urge to stick my tongue out at them and make obscene gestures at the same time. The thought was so appealing that I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to resist it.

"What are you looking so pained about?" Cullen asked, eyes flickering to me as our speed increased.

The truth tumbled out easily, I was getting calmer the longer I was with him. Odd. "I'm trying to resist sticking my tongue out to the people outside. I've never been in a car with tinted windows before. I've never thought of the possibilities it could lead to."

He roared with laughter, face set into a wide mirthful grin. "You know that is not all we can do in a car with tinted windows?" he then said, his words laden with innuendo, smirking mischievously at me.

My mouth flapped open, realising the hole I dug myself into. To my utter surprise, a whirlpool of warmth erupted in the pit of my stomach. To cover my sudden arousal I said: "Uh- ah- You pervert!" was the best I could come up with.

He chuckled again, as we turned into one of the many dirt roads that were around Forks. "Oh Bella, you are full of contradictions," he said, his voice warm.

I quirked my eyebrows at him, "what's that supposed to mean?"

He didn't answer, just grinned at me before getting out of the car. He opened my door within the next nanosecond and proffered his hand, still smiling that crooked panty-dropping smile. "Come with me Miss Swan," he said, "I have much to show you."

I arched my eyebrows, smoothed my hair before taking his hand, allowing him to pull me out of the car. My heeled grey shoes dug into soft earth. We were at the end of the dirt road and it was pitch black. The only light came from the car headlights, which cut the night air. From beyond where we were, all I could see was trees, shrubs and greenery.

"Is this it?" I asked, I couldn't help but let disappointment colour my words. I'd imagined more than to be taken to the back of nowhere.

"We're not there yet. I can't drive the Aston through the undergrowth," he said simply, "I'll have to carry you there."

I froze in the middle of pushing my hair behind my shoulders, "Are you serious?"

"Deadly. How would you prefer? Piggy back or bridal?" he grinned at me, holding out his arms.I stuck my tongue in my cheek before saying, "Piggy back and if you drop me I'll kill you."

He scoffed, "I won't drop you. I'd never drop you."

I paused, staring at him for a moment before moving towards him. He smiled before turning his back to me, bending his knees to accommodate to my height. My hands first smoothed up his broad back, looking pale next to the silky blackness that was his jacket. I hooked them over his shoulders and pulled myself closer to him. His hands caught my thighs and he pulled me up. I wrapped legs around his waist and I head rested in his shoulder. I nestled myself in between his shoulder blades, taking comfort in the steady heat of him. I suddenly realised that it was stupid to think he could drop me. How could I be afraid of him dropping me? He was the most real and solid thing to me just then. He was safe.

"Hold on tight," he murmured.I tightened my arms around his throat and hooked my feet together. He chuckled again, his laughter sounding like a murmuring ocean. And he was running. With it being pitch black, I couldn't see a thing. I could feel his powerful body moving under me, the cool whip of wind against my cheeks, the crackle and snap of twigs underfoot. It felt wonderful. I expected myself to be scared but I wasn't. I just felt free. Laughter bubbled up to my lips and it rang out through the silent felt like minutes later Cullen stopped. He gently let me down murmuring, "we're here." My shoes didn't sink into the earth but stayed upright. I could tell I was in a clearing though, the moonlight was the only bright thing in the sky, but it made everything shadowy. My fingers still latched onto the only familiar thing I had: Cullen.

"Where are we? I can't see, it's too dark," I said, hating myself then for allowing my voice to tremor. I don't like the dark.

"I was banking on that," he said, his face a dark silhouette against the indigo sky, "Your senses haven't kicked in yet. Just hold on and I'll get us some light. I won't be long."

"What?" I yelped, "Don't leave me in the dark!" I hated being alone in the dark. Too many nightmares happened when I was in the dark and alone.

"It will only be a minute, I promise. It'll be worth it." He suddenly pressed his lips against my forehead and squeezed my hand before he was gone. I swore quietly under my breath and clenched my fists, trying to keep was a few rustles and snaps from the surrounding area and I tried to keep my overactive imagination under control. It wasn't easy. I was doing my thing of fiddling, twisting the ring around my finger, picking at locks of my hair and twisting the material of my dress around my fingers. "Where is he?" I whispered, my eyes flicking around the clearing, "Hurry up."

Suddenly light filled the clearing, its golden hue flooded the grass and wildflower meadow, early spring flowers pushing their way up through the earth. The light was coming from the trees that surrounded the meadow. Fairy lights snaked up the trunks and into the branches, illuminating the spring buds and leaves. Every single tree in the clearing was decorated in this way and in the centre of the clearing was a wooden canopy, hung with white linen, the wooden pillars were veined with more fairy lights. Black wrought iron table and chairs were set beneath it on a red carpet, one that led a trail towards where I was standing, little multi coloured tea lights set along the way. The table was set with a table cloth and plates, ready for a was back with me in an instant as my mouth flapped open at what I was seeing. He remained silent as my eyes took in the fairy-tale like meadow.

"So?" he finally said, looping his arm through mine.

"Wow," I said stupidly, "This was definitely not what I was expecting. It's…beautiful. Really beautiful," my voice was quiet with awe."All for you," he replied, "all for you."

"Wow," I said again, "No one's ever done something like this for me.""It was my pleasure," he said, something close to satisfaction or triumph in his voice, "Shall we sit?"

"Sure," I said, allowing him to take my hand. He led me down, our footfalls softened by the crimson path. "Tell me about your day," he said, as we arrived under the shelter of the canopy.

"It was shit," I said simply, as he pulled out one of the chairs and gestured for me to sit. I sat, murmuring my thanks before he swiftly sat down. The table on my side was set silver cutlery, crystal glasses and blood red napkins. It looked like something out of a restaurant.

"How?" he asked, grass green eyes staring levelly at me, "Can I make it better?"

I sniggered, rolling my eyes at him, "It was just one disaster followed by another. That's how.""Talk me through the disasters. Do you want a drink?" he asked.

I sipped on the coke he got me as I talked, relaying my entire day. I even told him about Jake; the words kept coming and didn't stop. And he listened, drinking some Vitality drink all the way. It was nice, someone was just listening to me without giving an opinion on what I said. Once finished, anger making my blood run hotter, he leaned forward, setting his drink down. "You ok now?" The three words were filled with concern and out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand inch forward towards mine.

"Sort of," I muttered, looking down at my hands, "It just…it takes getting used to that's all. These people, I've known them my whole and now they are treating me like I've…boiled puppies or sodomised with a pig. It's ridiculous and it fucking hurts. I'm daughter to the Chief of Police for Chrissake! My record is cleaner than clean. I don't steal, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't sleep around, I have never gotten a parking or speeding ticket, I work hard in school and get good grades. What more do they fucking want? Pardon my language." My rant finally drew to a close, and he was still listening, though his knuckles had gone completely white around his bottle.

"I wish I could do something," he murmured, his eyes a fraction darker than before.

"Ah well, there's nothing anyone can do. People are stupid, way life is. Anyway, anything that doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger." I shrugged taking another gulp of syrupy coke.

"Well said," he murmured.

"Granma Swan used to say that to me during Elementary school, when I was bullied. She'd dry my eyes and say, 'No point crying over spilt milk. Anything that doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.' Best advice anyone has ever given me."

"You sound like you loved your grandmother," he commented.

"She replaced Renee. She helped raise me," I looked down at my fingers, twisting the ring around my finger again. The pain was still there, it will always be there. I just knew how deal with it better now.

"What happened?"

"Still not ready to tell you," I said briskly. Taking a swig of my coke, I looked at Cullen and quickly changed the subject; "So tell me about your family. What's it like being raised a vampire?"

He smiled, "There's not a lot of difference really. I had a happy childhood. I was home-schooled by my father, played 'Cowboys and Indians' with my brothers, had bedtime stories read to me by my mother. I had piano lessons from an early age and we were always taught never to show our fangs or growl in public. Before the Unveiling, Father still had his business. To the human world the company was pharmaceutical company. But really Father was already supplying Vitality to the covens. My brothers drank it until we were 13, before we transferred to human blood. We're then taught how to hunt and feed without killing, how to Enthral people, what to expect when we meet our mate."

"Enthral?"

"Hypnotism, basically," he traced the mouth of his bottle, "We learn how to control people's minds, let us feed from them."

"Vampires actually do that? They never mentioned that in biology," I said, incredulity and a little fear colouring my words.

"We told humans what we thought were the bare necessities. Enthralment wasn't one of them," he said simply.

"Have you ever tried it out on me?" I asked.

"No," he said simply, "I knew it would piss you off. And I don't think it would have worked anyway."

"Hmm," I muttered, "just as well. So you can read people's thoughts and control them. That's fucked up."

"Not as fucked up as the girl who I can't hear a word from nor can be Enthralled. That's fucked up," he said, grinning at me.

"Gee thanks," I said drily, "Are you saying there's something wrong with me?"

"No," he said, "Lots of mates have innate talents that are not discovered until they become Marked. Alice is a prime example."

I frowned, "What do you mean by talents?"

"Like how I can read minds, sometimes mates have their own talent. Alice is an Oracle and can see the future, but she never knew that until Jasper marked her. You…I'm thinking its psychic immunity. It will explain why you feel no connection to me and why we have to do this the 'human' way. But it could prove very useful."

"Huh…so I'm not just a Lois Lane?" I asked. I was amused and little pleased by the idea of having a talent.

He chuckled, "No, you're not. You're not 'just' anything."

"I have a superpower. That sounds cool," I said grinning.

"So my superhero, would you like to eat now?" he asked, still looking amused.

"Yeah, I'm starved," I said. He smiled and bent under the table to pull out something. A thought crossed my mind and I asked, "Will I ever have to drink blood?"

"No," he said, still under the table, "You don't need to eat as often but you still need to eat." He then pulled out a plate covered by one of those silver things that was supposed to keep the food warm. He grinned setting the plate down in front of me before removing the metal cover, "Enjoy," he said.

My plate was set with steak, fries and salad steaming gently in the cold air. It smelled delicious and my stomach panged with hunger. "Thanks," I said placing the napkin on my lap.

I popped a fry into my mouth and chewed, smiling at him satisfactorily. "Is it good?" he asked.

"Delicious," I said, "Can you eat human food? It doesn't poison you or anything?"

"No, it doesn't poison me. When you were younger, did anyone ever dare you to eat dirt?"

"Jake once dared me to eat worms, I rose to the challenge of course," I shuddered delicately.

"We vomit any food we eat within an hour of consuming it," he said, "it doesn't weaken us or anything, its just not pleasant."

"Right…" I said, I paused to eat before Cullen said, "What's your favourite colour?"

"What?" I asked, startled by the sudden question."What's your favourite colour?" he repeated.

"Uh… changes from day to day," I said, shrugging, "depends what mood I'm in."

"What is it now?" he asked, eyes the colour of moss.

"Green," I said without thinking.

"Green eh? What was your favourite childhood toy and what did you name it?"

And it continued, as I ate he practically interrogating me about every aspect of my life: favourite foods, movies, childhood memories, places I'd been to, things I wanted to do. While talking I finished my meal and he produced a dessert of raspberries and cream.J

ust as I put the first cream covered raspberry into my mouth, he asked, "When and how did you lose your virginity?"

I choked, the raspberry lodged in my throat and I began to cough, eyes streaming. He was suddenly by my side, thumping me on the back. Once my airways were cleared I turned to stare at his beautiful face, "How do you know?"

"I can smell it," he said simply, something dark skittering in his gaze.

"Well… this is awkward," I muttered, my face heating with embarassment.

"You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to," he said, moving back to his seat.

There was a pause, we stared at each other for a good moment before I leaned forward and said, "It was Jake. He took my virginity."

His fists curled on the table and I could have sworn his fangs grew a little before retracting just as quickly, "I see."

"Now don't get your panties in a twist, it wasn't anything special," I said nonchalantly, "we were 15 and everyone else was doing it and we wanted to see what the fuss was about. We didn't particularly care about finding the perfect person to do it with so we thought, 'why not with our best friend? Who else is better? We know each other well and we're not expecting much. Got nothing to lose.' Worst decision of my life."

"What was it like?" he asked.

"…Awful. It hurt like hell. He had these Star Wars sheets on his bed and there were empty pizza boxes next to it. He couldn't get the condom on so I had to help him. While I was putting that slimy thing on, I was giggling like a 6 year old, it just seemed so hilarious at the time. I think I kept on muttering about bananas or something all the way through. He was fuming and telling me it wasn't funny but I couldn't stop sniggering. And then all the way through it...I just remember thinking that I never wanted to have sex ever again and wondering why other people had it," I chewed on my lip, remembering the feeling of being ripped in half. "Then afterwards, he fell asleep and I hobbled to the bathroom to clean myself up. I haven't had sex since. Jake and I don't talk about it. He has a bit of a wounded pride about it and I think he is a little pissed at me for not enjoying it." I shrugged, "You don't need to turn into a green eyed monster about it."

He remained silent, fists still balled on the table top. His expression was murderous and he glared at his bottle with myrtle green eyes. He was really angry about something. I reached forward and grasped one of his hands, which instantly relaxed under my fingers, "There's nothing to get so upset about. It's done now, can't be reversed and if I find Jake's guts decorating his front lawn I will be seriously pissed-"

"I'm not jealous," he said curtly, "I know I can make you scream with so much pleasure, that you will not even remember your own name let alone that boy," he twisted his hand upwards to grab my fingers and hold them tightly. He drew closer to me, warm minty breath fanning across my face, "It's the fact that he hurt you. He made you suffer for his own pride. I have every right to decorate his front lawn with his guts, I can do a lot worse. He hurt you. That's what matters."

His eyes were burning with the intensity of the sun, his hand holding mine so tightly it must have bruised me but I didn't care. Electric shots ran under my skin, alighting every fibre of my body, hotness thrummed through my blood and collected in my core. I wanted to touch him. Run my fingers through his hair, trail them across lines of his body and create unseen patterns across his skin. I wanted to kiss every inch of him, taste his skin and explore him like no one else could or ever will. I wanted to show him that I belonged to him and he belonged to in the moment as much as I was, his hand other hand trailed a burning path up my arm, cupping my jaw, "So perfect," he whispered, "so beautiful. Mine. All mine."

He inched forwards, painfully slowly. I didn't dare move, afraid I would break the moment. I could taste him on my tongue already, fresh, clean yet oh so sinful. His celery eyes flicked up to me, as if my permission. He must have seen something good because he drifted another centimetre towards and our lips heaven could take a form, it would Edward Cullen's lips. They were soft yet firmly moving against mine, the peppermint taste mixing with the lingering raspberry flavour in my mouth. My hand fisted in his hair, the silky locks slid through my fingers like warm water. My blood was now on fire and I never thought burning would feel so good. The table beneath me seemed to disappear, shoved to the side by Edward. He lifted me up, my toes brushing his shoes. He suddenly pushed me up against one of the wooden posts, lips always locked on mine. I felt his fangs elongate and draw blood from my lip, rusty iron now permeating the kiss. It strangely didn't hurt and he growled possessively. His hand wrapped around my thigh hoisted it onto his hip and I felt the full extent of his arousal.

Warning bells clanged in my head and pulled away to gasp, "Too much. Stop. Too much."

He kissed along my jaw seeming to ignore me, as he acted like a man from the desert desperate for water. "Please stop," I pleaded breathily, "I'm not ready. I'm sorry."

He growled into my neck and his hand tightened on my thigh. "Give me a moment. Don't move," he replied, the words muffled by the skin of my neck. He still held me against the post, not letting me down. I did as he told me and remained like a statue in his grasp.

He finally kissed my pulse before letting me down and stepping away politely. He straightened his clothes and tamed his hair, smiling a respectable and controlled smile at me. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I got carried away. Its hard not to." He looked me up and down and said, "Was I too rough?"

"No," I said, shaking slightly from the aftermath, "I actually enjoyed it. But it was too fast. One step at a time."

He ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes fixed on me, "I have something for you," he said, fishing through his pockets, "A little present of sorts."

"You shouldn't have," I whispered, leaning heavily against the post, trying gather some sense of control, "This has all been wonderful. I couldn't ask for more."

"Its been my pleasure to see you smile. I plan on making you smile a lot more," he said, while taking out a black velvet box.

"Oh you really shouldn't have. I'm terrible with jewellery, I lose it all the time-"

"You won't lose this," he said positively, holding the box out to me, "Please take it."

Swallowing, I took the box, bracing myself before opening it. A pale blue stone set in white gold with a white gold chain met my eyes. The gem seemed to change colour in the light, one minute it was sky blue, the next a pale lilac, the next indigo. It was beautiful and simple. Something I could actually see myself wearing. "My God," I breathed, "it's beautiful! I- wow." I was speechless, which did not happen often.

"Let me put it on for you," he offered. I handed it to him and with one swift motion he had it out and ready to put on me. I turned around and lifted my hair out of the way. His warm fingers brushed against the back of my neck as he put it on. Once done, he kissed the nape of my neck before letting my hair fall down again. I turned to him, showing him the necklace against my collarbones.

He beamed at me, "Perfect, it looks perfect. Just how I imagined. I knew you wouldn't want anything to elaborate yet I wanted something the reflected your loveliness."

"I love it, thank you," I said, a little hoarse with awe. I tentatively kissed his cheek, feeling utterly foolish.

He grinned anyway, cupping my cheeks. "It's safe to say that this is the best night of my life."

"Its high on my list of best nights too," I replied, finding myself telling the truth.

**Good date? Tell me!**

**Bones**

**Random Fact #8: when I see buttercups, I think of my grandfather. There's this saying that if you put a buttercup underneath your chin and it makes your skin glow gold, you like butter. I used to play this game with him on his farm but we could never tell if it glowed underneath his chin because he always had a beard**.


	10. Evolving

_Evolving_

__**WARNING: Suggestive material in the first part of this chapter. It is, I say, very obscure and hardly explicit in any shape or form. I have read YA novels with more detail than this. THIS IS NOT WORTH REPORTING. I will repeat that. THIS IS NOT WORTH REPORTING. Just to be clear, okay? The uncensored version will be posted on TWCS for those that are interested. I will tell you when this has happened.**

_Hair sliding across my skin. _

_Warm fingers on the bare skin of my ribcage._

_Whispered tender words and sweet nothings._

_Fire under my heart, in my head, in my stomach. _

_That smile. That damned crooked smile_...

"Bella! Get up honey!" Charlie's voice shattered the fantasy in one fell swoop. I jerked out of that delicious dream world and into this world, with sweat as a sheen on my body and a heavy heat in the pit of my stomach. I gasped clutching my throbbing heart, blinking rapidly. Oh holy shit. Before I met Cullen, I had never had a wet dream before, but I could see why people like them so much. Tingles were running up and down my body, setting my blood on fire. However, neither had I ever been sexually frustrated before. And I can see why people hate that.

And it wasn't the first time that week either. Every night since last week's date there had been hot, sensuous dreams that had my sheets tangled around my legs and my lungs gasping for air as if I'd run a marathon. They were always in different places, sometimes in a forest, most of the time in my bedroom and once in his Volvo (that had been _fucking_ hot). I hated it and loved it at the same time. Mostly hate. Because the dreams always left something to be desired. Always stopping before the thing I really, really wanted. Why did they have to do that? Why? My subconscious was torturing me and enjoying it. Bitch.

I balled my fists into my eyes and tried to rub out the image of mischievous green eyes out of my retina. "Bella! You've got school. Come on, get up!"

"I'm up!" I snapped, way crankier than I usually am in the morning. Swinging my legs out of bed, I grabbed my towel and zoomed into the shower. I turned the shower into an icy waterfall, stripped off my clothes and hopped in. I squealed when the freezing water soaked my skin but it instantly dowsed the fire in the pit of my stomach. I sighed in relief before finally turning the water up to less arctic temperatures. I deliberately blocked all thoughts concerning Cullen.

I blocked thoughts of him through brushing my teeth, combing my hair, dressing myself and packing my bag for school. I had a Cullen-free brain all through my usual routine. Until breakfast that is.

There he was, sitting all innocent-like at the table, casually sipping a bottle of Vitality, as if he was king of the world. Wearing tight fitting jeans and dark green long sleeved sweater, he looked casually perfect. In that one moment I was so unbelievably mad at him. Why did he have to plague my thoughts? Why does he have to be a common feature of my dreams? Why does he have to appear wonderful every single fucking day, only fuelling the dreams that are making having a good night's sleep impossible? Why?

He suddenly glanced up and smiled his crooked smile, exactly like the one that featured in my dreams often. "Good morning Bella. You look as lovely as ever," he said, getting up from the table to kiss my cheek.

Charlie glanced up, grunted in agreement and went back to reading the local paper. I was wearing tight jeans, blue pumps, a white tank top and a navy blue cardigan. My neck was adorned with the white gold necklace he had given me, my hair was tied into a ponytail and my face had light make up on. "Thank you," I said stiffly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well thank you," he said, going into the kitchen area and coming back with waffles and bacon."

I feel bad about you sleeping on the couch," I said, as he set the plate down at my place and gestured at me to eat, "I'm sure we can get a camp bed or something. I'm sure they don't cost a lot."

"Bella its fine. I'm perfectly comfortable on the couch," he said, as we both settled into chairs again around the table, "Did you sleep well?"

My face heated and I muttered, "Fine." Sordid images flashed in my head again, as Cullen stared curiously at me.

He didn't push it though and said, "So what are your plans for today? Are you doing anything after school?"

"Nah, just cook supper really. Why? You got something lined up?"

"Father wants a family meeting, the Assembly is happening soon."

"The what?" I asked, forkful of bacon hovering halfway to my mouth. I could tell Charlie was listening, in that quiet, discrete way of his, pretending to read the local paper.

"I'll explain in the car," Cullen said, his eyes flickering briefly to Charlie before coming back to me.

"Right… will it take long?" I asked. I wondered why Cullen couldn't tell me what it was in front of Charlie. Maybe it was because vampires liked to hide an awful lot from humans. I'd learned that their blood has healing properties and is an aphrodisiac but that, out of all the secrets, is kept the most guarded. Can't have humans draining vampires for getting high, can we?

"No, you'd be home in time to cook dinner," Cullen said. "I'll drive you there and back."

"Ok," I said, taking a swig of orange juice.

We sat in comfortable silence as I ate. When I finished, my plate disappeared and Cullen was standing beside me, holding out his hand for me to take. "Come on, I'll drive you to school," he said, smiling warmly at me.

"Cool," I said, getting up to kiss Charlie on the cheek, "Seeya tonight Dad. Beef stroganoff for dinner."

"Bye Bells," he murmured, eyes still glued to the paper.

Cullen and I headed outside, the drizzling rain instantly covering us in a cold sheen of water. I pulled my hood up, as we trekked to the silver Volvo, which had become a permanent fixture in our driveway and never failed to shock me. We got in, sped away from the house and Cullen finally began to explain to me what the Assembly was.

"The official title is 'The Assembly of the Magnificent Blood' but everyone just calls it the Assembly."

"Because the real name sounds stuck up," I finished for him.

He chuckled, "Yes, something like that. Its when all the vampires of the world, except the Slavic states for obvious reasons, meet together for a conference, to discuss legal, territorial, image and other matters. It's a bit like Congress. Carlisle, being the leader of America, has to go, and being his three sons and consequently his heirs, we have to go. You…well there is absolutely no discussion about you going. We can't hide you forever. The Assembly is a good place and time to do it. Father wants to talk security and protection of you, since you will be the most sought after."

My stomach plummeted at the thought, and I absent-mindedly clutched at my seat, "Where is it?"

"Volterra, Italy."

I stared at him, mouth flapping open, "Italy? For how long?"

"Depends how long the talks go on for. Shortest is two weeks," he said, eyes still fixed on the road.

"Two fucking weeks?" I gasped, fingers balling into fists on my lap, "I can't stay away from home that long. Charlie'll freak!"

"Bella, I'm sorry, you have to," he said, a pained look spreading across his face, "Trust me, if I had any choice we wouldn't even be going. But it is expected of us."

"All of the vampires will be there," I squeaked, panic making my fingers twist around each other into painful knots, "All of them. All of them will want to take a bite out of me, and I mean that literally, or do other weird kinky shit that will probably kill me or leave me scarred for life and−"

"I won't let anything happen to you." He said this shortly, bluntly, his voice almost dead sounding in its determination. It stopped the panicked words that were tumbling out of my mouth like rocks in an earthquake. It was weird how fast the panic drained away. I knew instinctively that Edward would do all that he can to make sure I never suffered harm.

I paused, words failing to come to mind. After a silence I finally managed to say, "So when is this Assembly?"

"A few weeks away. We'll make sure you are totally prepared for it," he said, hand reaching forward to brush a lock of hair away from my face before cupping my cheek, smiling assuredly at me. I smiled back, letting the warmth from his hand roll through my body. Curiosity creased his brow and he dropped his hand, focussing back on the road. "You've been talking in your sleep. Are you sure you are sleeping ok? What have you been dreaming about?"

Face bloomed red like a fucking tomato. I stared fixedly at the wing mirror, watching the boring green pines go by. "I uh…what do I say?"

"My name…" I could practically feel him smiling, even though I was looking away, "and other things."

"Like what?" I asked, not daring to look at him until my face had stopped trying to act like a stop sign.

"'Please' and 'I want you'… all the signs of a wet dream," he said, sounding very pleased with himself. Oh fuck, I thought. "Tell me: am I good?"

My face felt like it was on fire, "You wish."

"Oh oho, that burns," Cullen said, playful sarcasm inflecting in his words, "I must have been mind-blowing. I can practically smell your blush."

"Fuck off. I can't control it," I muttered, trying to force the blood back out of my face. Wasn't working. Fucking shit. Stupid body."

If it makes you feel any better," he said, and I felt his hand in my hair, "I have dreams about you."

My face turned into shock and I turned to look at him, "Really?"

His roguish face was grinning wildly, his fangs protruding a little over his bottom lip, "Really." He said, his voice deep and husky and smooth. Another blush waved through me and I looked out of the window again.

We finally pulled into the parking lot, which was already full of chattering teenagers. He pulled up by the front doors of the school and I scooped my bag up from the foot well. Within the next second he had my door open and I slid out, totally used to his fast reactions and movements by now. There were still a few paparazzi, red-eyed and huddling over coffee, still lingering around the mouth of the school entrance but they only half heartedly raised their cameras to snap photos of me going to school. It was certainly an improvement from earlier in the month when we literally couldn't enter the school because there were so many of them. Thankfully they weren't allowed into the school but that didn't stop them from interviewing my old 'friends'. I wasn't surprised with this. I just refused to read or watch the news anymore, in case something turned up that made me either so angry I couldn't think straight or wanting to bury myself in my comforter with Ben and Jerry for the rest of my life. Cullen eventually had a few 'words' with the journalists and by the next day, nearly all of them were gone. Only a few stragglers remained, and they were starting to look a little bored with it all. I still did my customary flicking the finger at them, giving the same message for them to kindly, please, fuck off.

Cullen frowned at them before turning his attention to me. "How about a kiss goodbye?" he asked, grinning impishly.

My face blushed pink and I became increasingly aware of other people in the parking lot. "No," I mumbled, staring down at my scuffed shoes before glancing up at pouted, yet his eyes were still playful, "Aw come on! One little one. Doesn't even have to be on the lips. I'd be happy if you kissed my cheek."

"Everyone is staring!" I whisper-yelled, my face feeling like a furnace, "I hate watching PDA let alone doing it!"

He sighed, tugging on his autumn coloured hair, "One day Bella, I am going to make you beg for a kiss in public… then for even more."

_Oh holy Lord, have mercy on my panties_. "Yeah and that's not today," I said, pretty sure that all the blood in my body was in my face. I waved, smiling warmly at him before finally saying, "I'll see you at four alright?"

He still looked disappointed but nodded, "Ok. Have a nice day."

"I'll try," I said turning away and headed into school. The last I saw of him was making a beeline for the remaining paparazzi. Alice, Rose and Kate were at the doors, talking amongst themselves and waiting for me. "Hi Bella, ready to go to French?" Alice asked chirpily her thickly lined grey eyes glittering with friendly warmth. She was wearing a blood red corset trimmed with black lace, a long skirt that was ragged around the edges, fishnet stockings and ankle leather combat boots. Still playing to character. Weird pixie chick. I often wondered how Jasper kept up with her weirdness. Mind you...he's pretty weird too.

"Joy: Madame Fitzroy. Fantastique," I said with dry sarcasm.

Alice also sighed, twirling a lock of hair, "Honestly? I just think of Paris whenever she threatens to spit on us. The fashion capital of the world! Jasper promised to take me there, one day. He's fluent in French so I don't need Madame's stupid lectures on the subjunctive."

Rosalie laughed and rolled her eyes, "honestly Alice, if you had any choice you would have quit school years ago."

"Well exactly! They don't teach us anything useful. Exponential Curves? DNA replication? The Marshall plan? How are these supposed to benefit us in later life? It's all bullshit!"

Kate widened her eyes as we began to walk into the halls of school, "Well someone doesn't like school. No way in hell am I gonna quit educating myself. I'm gonna go to college, get a job as an electrical engineer. The day I depend on Garret for anything is the day ice-skating becomes a regular activity in hell."

Rose and I looked at each other and smirked. Kate was fiercely independent, almost more so than I am. She wouldn't allow Garret to drive her to school or cook meals for her or even change a light bulb. It was quite funny seeing how they would argue over the most trivial things, like who would buy groceries.

"And you'll be the best electrical engineer there ever was," I replied, just as we reached where the corridor grinned excitedly, "I know. I just can't wait. See you guys at lunch!"

The day passed with little occurrence, we had the usual acidic stares and subtle discrimination, which I was starting to get used to. It was a 3:45 when we were finally let out of class for the weekend. While the other Brides went outside to their cars, I slipped to the toilet to freshen up and had the misfortune to come across my old friends. Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory were topping up their already mile thick make up while eyeing me disgustedly in the mirror. I ignored them, just came over to the sink to wash my hands.

"So what's it like Swan?" Stanley blurted out, swimming pool eyes focused on me, a sickened curiosity staining her features.

"What is 'it', may I ask?" I said, arching an eyebrow at them.

They sighed in exasperation before saying, "The sex, you idiot! What's it like? Is it really as good as they say it is?" They both now looked at me intently, waiting for my answer. I stared back, resisting the urge to smile. I should have known that they would muster the guts to ask about sex. It was all the thought about. Its a wonder they're not pregnant yet.

I twisted around and leaned against the sink, grinning coyly at them, "Mind-blowing. I sometimes can't walk afterwards. It's so amazing, I can't even remember my own name. All of that shit at the beginning- totally worth it." It wasn't like I was lying. By the way he sometimes kisses me and touches me, it was hard not to believe that sex with Cullen wouldn't be amazing.

I took great pleasure in the jealous looks that sparked in their eyes before Lauren suddenly said, "Well why don't you touch him more?"

My smile faltered, "What?"

A vicious smile spread across Mallory's face, "Why don't you touch him more? If the sex is that amazing, I would have my hands all over him all the time. He's certainly gorgeous enough for it."

The fake grin slipped off my face and was replaced by a frown, "I thought you didn't like vampires."

She continued to grin nastily at me, "A dick is a dick," she replied, twirling a lock of bleach hair around her finger, "And I always want the best. God knows I'm more capable for that kind of pleasure than you are."

I actually burst out laughing, "If you think that you can break a vampire mating bond you are truly more stupid than I thought you were."

"Well… you never know," she said, "I heard of this story about a mate and her vampire on the East Coast. The mate apparently wasn't good enough in bed and the vampire went to a vampire bar and the mate never saw him again. But ever vamp-whore between Boston and Miami did."

Just her smile and the story she told had a jealous pit of fire burning in the pit of my stomach. The mere thought of them trying to seduce Cullen made me want to pull out their hair and claw at their faces. Rage bubbled through my bloodstream and I gripped the cold porcelain of the sink underneath my fingers. "You are a stupid whore if you believe in rumours. Both of you. You will never find a guy who can make you feel as wonderful as Cullen can for me. And you fucking know it. I pity you."

I left their astounded faces, making my way quickly outside, my anger making a red haze descend over my vision again and my face flushed. If I had stayed in the a second longer, I am not sure if Mallory and Stanley would have left intact. I knew that Mallory's words were meaningless but it didn't stop the fury pounding beneath my skull. How dare they? How fucking dare they? They were lucky I hadn't smashed their heads together. While my mind was raging, a small part of my mind was bewildered by the complete lack of control I had. I never lost my temper this way, actually considering physical violence towards others. Clenching and unclenching my fists, my mind began to construct a subtler plan. Something that would make them shut the fuck up for once. I hid in one of the classrooms beyond the bathroom I'd used, making absolutely sure that Mallory and Stanley were in the parking lot. I followed them out a few minutes later, my bag swinging from side to side as I jogged. I searched the parking lot, looking for that familiar copper coloured hair.I smiled when I saw it and my jog turned into a sprint. He must have heard my thundering, tumbling footsteps, because he turned and beamed back.

When I drew closer he started to say, "Bella, glad to see-"

He didn't get very far in his sentence because I crashed into him, lips taking his in one fierce angry clash. My fingers grappled with his neck and hair and I pulled myself up unto my tiptoes to be closer. He was shocked at first, an immobile yet warm statue against my undulating body. But then he finally responded, his greedy hands enclosed my hips, his fingers rippling lustily across my flesh all but yanking me closer. However, I could sense a control about him and the reckless side of me wanted to destroy it. My tongue swept across his bottom lip and he obliged, groaning softly as our tongues met for the first time. Again, his taste of mint and lemon, making me sigh breathily into his mouth. I felt him smile against my lips, his elongated teeth like smooth steel against my tongue. I was kissing a vampire and the danger of it thrilled me to no end.

After what felt like a long, long, long, long time, we finally broke apart. I grinned as I entwined my fingers in the soft baby hairs at the nape of his neck, "Are they watching?" I whispered, so only he could hear, "Is everyone else watching?"

His emerald eyes swept up and around while mine own were fixed on his face. "Yes," he breathed, his now grass green eyes fixed on me again, "Why?"

My eyes flickered to see where Stanley and Mallory were standing, anger and disbelief making their faces turn puce. "I take back what I said earlier: I love PDA. We should do it more often."

He arched his eyebrow and shook his head, moving one arm to settle around my waist and uncoiled the other from my hair, "You never cease to surprise me Bella."

I smiled before kissing the tip of his chin, "We mustn't keep your father waiting."

He smiled, cupping my cheek gently before releasing me and sliding into the car.

"Damn Bella," Rose said, grinning her rogue smile at me, "Never knew you had that in you. That is what I was talking about."

She winked and giggled but my face didn't flush as it normally would. I rolled my eyes as I made around the Volvo, "Yeah, yeah, wallflower turned seductress. Just call it 'The Ruining of Bella Swan.'"

Rose grinned, "I like it. Has a certain ring to it."

I chuckled before waving back, saying, "I'll see you at the Crypt."

Ignoring the venomous stares from the other students and teachers in the parking lot, I got into the car. Cullen drove out of the parking lot, smirking like the cat who got the cream.

"How was your day? What did you do?" I asked casually, settling into my seat.

"I had a few more words with the photographers," that made me smirk, "then I went back home, dormivit for a few hours and worked a little with father over settling political affairs."

I nodded, used to the word 'dormir' being used, the Latin word for sleep. It referred to when a vampire slept. And I mean really slept, when their hearts would stop beating and their temperature would drop like a stone. They would be medically dead and nearly nothing could wake them up. They only awoke when their bodies had fully renewed or they 'felt' their mate was in trouble. It could only be done in total darkness, usually underground as vampires were at their most vulnerable when dormire. Cullen explained to me that the sleeping he does while in my house is like a doze: a part of his mind rests but he can still think coherent thoughts throughout and this was called 'lethargus'. It meant that he could still partially rest while keeping watch over me. I found it a bit creepy to be honest but I didn't tell him that.

"That's good, so you're all freshened up then?"

"Yes, I want to be in top condition when we go to Italy."The thought of Italy had my stomach plummeting again and I sunk low in my seat. "Oh…Italy…"

Warm fingers entrapped my chin and made me look at him, he was smiling softly at me, "You told my father you wanted to see Venice. Would you like that?"

My eyes widened and I couldn't help but allow the biggest smile spread across my face, "I'd love to."

He smiled at my joy and said, "I'm sure something can be arranged."

I stopped myself from squealing like a 5 year old on candy. I just grinned like an idiot while saying in a slightly stunned voice, "thank you."

"You're more than welcome," he said, "I just want to see you happy."

His words made my heart flutter and my face flush. I couldn't believe myself sometimes. Cullen seemed to know all my buttons, "Have you ever been to Italy?" I asked.

"Yes, many times with Father and my brothers," he said, "but I'd much prefer going with you. Its always good to have a fresh pair of eyes. Makes everything that was old seem new."

I thought about that for a minute, something was a little odd about his words. "How old are you? I mean, you look 17 or 18 but…I don't know, there is something about you that just seems…old," I finished lamely, staring at him curiously.

He paused, staring out the window for a moment, "I look seventeen…but I was born in the early 20th century."

"Uh…wow," I said, scratching my head, "That's uhm…old."

He watched me warily, dark emerald eyes glued to me, "Indeed."

"You're a paedophile, you know that?" I said, smiling archly, "Its gross, I made out with an old man."

He roared with laughter instantly relaxed again. "Well it looks like you're a gerontophile. You love kissing an old man," he said, "we're both disgusting people."

I rolled my eyes and smirked, "So how does it work out that you look 17 but are actually closer to 100?"

"We age differently from humans. A year to us is the equivalent to about 5 years to you," he said helpfully.

"Ah, ok. So do you die of old age?" I asked.

"No, we stop physically ageing when we feel like it. For example, father decided to stop physically ageing after I was born."

"Why?"

He stared levelly at me, "When a vampire Freezes, he loses his ability to have children. Mother had already born his three sons, so Father figured that was the time to Freeze."

"Oh," I said, taking this all in, "When will you…Freeze?"

"I'll probably do the same as my father. I'll Freeze when you give birth to our final son," he said, fingers reaching to stroke my cheek.

His words punched my gut and my face drained of all blood. "Uuh…w-well…hmm," I stammered, totally unsure of what to say. Believe it or not, I do actually like children. Or rather, other people's children. I was a frequent babysitter for the Rez and my neighbours. But I never really wanted children of my own. The thought of something growing inside me was a little repulsive. And then the afterthought of being totally responsible of someone so vulnerable, made me shudder. I'd seen what that responsibility had made my mother do. I didn't want to risk the same thing.

"You don't want children?" he asked, as we pulled up to his gravelled driveway.

"Uhm…well…" I said a little hoarsely, and, trying to change the subject, "I mean…we're a little young aren't we? I mean…I'm a little young?"

"We'll have children when you are ready to have children. We are in no rush," he said gently as we finally made it to the Cullen household, "I'm just stating the facts to you so you know. You will be expected to bear children at some point. The social consequences within the vampire population of not having children is...dire."

"Just call me the baby factory," I said sourly. I got out of the car before he could make a reply and tramped towards the front door. That was all I was good for now. Making babies. I had this vision of me grotesquely swollen, like something out of a horror movie, with snot-faced toddlers clinging to my legs. My face was haggard, my back crooked from the load. I closed my eyes and tried to push the image away. It stuck like a fucking nightmare, jumping on my retina, not going away.

"Hey! Bella, you're doing it again." I felt him grab me and pull me around. His earnest teal eyes bored into mine and he cupped my cheeks, "I know it's a lot to take in. We can take our time. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do. Just please near with me while we are going through this ok?"

I stared back, my hands sliding up to enclose his, "I'm being a bitch aren't I?"

"…a bit of a one," he admitted, stroking my cheeks with his thumb, "I don't control the laws of vampire nature."

"Sorry," I muttered

."I'll forgive you," he said, suddenly grinning crookedly, "If you kiss me like you did in the parking lot."

I laughed before easily crashing my lips onto his. He growled, the sound thrilling me, his hands roaming my body. Our tongues tangled and another growl ripped through him. Unlike before, there was no control in him. He grabbed my thighs and hoisted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, rocking me against something hard. A pang of discomfort went through me and I tore away, gasping. "Woah, easy tiger," I whispered, running my fingers soothingly through his hair. As much as my subconscious and my body seemed to think I was ready, my mind was still not so sure. I was cautiously allowing him to touch me more, still remembering how he had bruised and nearly broken my arm like it was a twig.

Jade eyes burning, he huffed irritably, squeezing my flesh before letting me down, his fangs flashing brilliantly in the weak sunlight. "Give me a moment," he said in a ragged but polite voice, stepping and turning away from me.

I scuffed my feet awkwardly and looked around, my face still a little heated. "I feel bad," I muttered, thrusting my hands into my pockets, "are you ok?"

His head twisted around and he smiled, "I'm not going to drop dead of blue balls, if that's what you mean."

I grinned sheepishly, and said, "Maybe we shouldn't touch at all."

He was standing in front of me within a millisecond, his breath washing my face. "Not going to happen," he rumbled. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side, kissing my temple, "They're waiting for us."

We walked together and I was more than aware of his arm holding me possessively over my stomach as we entered the house. I sighed and moved his hand down to my hip. "I'm not going to run away. I'm past that stage," I informed him as I smiled.

He raised his eyebrows as we made our way to the sitting room, "and what stage are you at?"I heaved a mock sigh, "Suffering in silence."

His hands suddenly began tickling me, "Take that back Isabella Swan," he growled in my ear, "You are _not_ suffering in silence."

"Stop it!" I giggled like a four year old, grappling with his fingers, "Ok, I take it back! I take it back!"

"Glad to see you two are getting more acquainted," Carlisle Cullen's voice cut through our bubble, "Please sit."

Cullen grinned, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the shell of my ear, "Indeed we are father."

My face flushed but I allowed Cullen to pull me into one of the plush seats. We sat close together, his thigh glued to mine and his arms still wrapped around my waist. The others were all standing or sitting around the living room, very much echoed the first time I had stepped inside of the Crypt. Except there was one person I did not recognise. A thickset man with a full head of dark hair sat next to Carlisle and Esme. He had a face full of frown lines and his beady eyes were fixed intently on me.

"Bella, this is J. Jenks, head of security of the company and consequently my family. Jenks, this is Bella Swan, Edward's mate," Carlisle stated coolly, gesturing between the man named Jenks and me.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Swan," Jenks said, nodding curtly towards me.

I nodded, "Likewise.""I trust Edward has told you everything about Italy," Carlisle said.

"Yup," I replied, "The Assembly of the Magnificent Blood. When is it exactly?"

"In a couple of weeks. We'll find a way of excusing you all from school. The Assembly is a series of meetings between each vampire state and the Volturi, where we discuss vampire economics and politics. Then all of the powers culminate to argue our next strategy in the War of Sticks and Stones. Mates are not allowed into the Assembly room during this time, but it is most likely that the Volturi Brothers will demand a meeting with you and Edward."

"Ok," I said, trying to hide the anxiety already beginning to pool in my stomach.

"We are not entirely concerned about this. What we're concerned about is the times when Edward cannot be with you. You, out of all of the mates, are the most vulnerable purely because of your apparent disconnection you have with Edward, so he cannot tell when you are in danger and so every vampire who wants our territory will see you as a way in. They won't be gentle about it either and they will probably try to kidnap you one way or another."

My gut was beginning to coil in dread and I felt Cullen's hand squeeze my thigh in comfort, "Jenks here was thinking that his own security will not be enough for the kind of attack you may receive in Volterra."

"My men are all human, Miss Swan," Jenks said gruffly, "we can handle two maybe three vampires who try to sneak past our defences, as vampires usually hunt in small packs. But we think, since you are a special case, that Dr Cullen's enemies will try larger numbers, maybe even rig a few mates in trying to snatch you. And we cannot hire some of our own vampires because they won't be able to protect you during the day, for obvious reasons."

"Ok…" I said, "So…what are we going to do then? Maybe I can…learn karate or kung-fu."

A few of the others smirked but Dr Cullen looked far from amused, "This is hardly a laughing matter Miss Swan. If you die, my son will go insane, go on a rampage fuelled by bloodlust and will finally die at the hands of the Volturi Guard or the Union. You must remember that it isn't just your life at stake here." His outburst wiped the smiles of everyone's faces and my stomach churned as his words painted a bloody picture in my mind. It was the first time Carlisle had shown any sort of affection towards his sons. His ochre eyes were burning with a ferocity that almost made me look away.

Cullen suddenly jolted, turning to Carlisle, "Father, what about the Union?"

Carlisle narrowed his eyes in contemplation, "I'm not sure, they might not want to help us. They did hunt us after all and they are still angry at us for the Unveiling."

"Its worth a shot though," Jenks said, a hopeful glint in his eye, "You know how they feel about vampire mates."

"What is the Union?" I asked, a puzzled frown creasing my brow.

"The Union is short for the Hunter's Union," Cullen explained quietly, "They are a group of…well we are not sure if they are actually human but their job is to keep the peace between the human world and the supernatural world. Before the Unveiling, their prime goal was to hunt all creatures who kill humans, like vampires."

I raised my eyebrows in shock, "Vampire hunters? Are you telling me that Van Helsing's job actually exists?"

"Yes love," Cullen said and I jolted at the endearment, "They're paid well too.""How come I've never heard of them before?" I asked, "I think the government would find their expertise useful, don't you think?"

"Beautiful, they're already working for the government," Edward explained, "There's a Hunter's Union working for every major government in the world, and its been that way only recently. The Hunters are choosing to stay hidden, they don't like publicity."

"Well," I breathed, an incredulous smile flickering on my lips, "Fuck. I guess you learn something new every day."

Carlisle put in: "We could ask them to help but they are hostile at best. I don't think they will be willing to help a species that has made their already difficult job that much harder."

"But if we say it is to protect a consort," Cullen said earnestly, "They will oblige. They pity consorts for they were once human. That's their main aim isn't it: protect all humans or beings that were once human from the supernatural. And if that doesn't motivate them, we are giving them an opportunity to get close to an Assembly meeting, something that they have never managed to do before."

Carlisle frowned again, twisting a finger around Esme's auburn hair in thought, "Well, if you put it like that…"

Cullen grinned triumphantly and kissed my temple again, squeezing my waist as I asked, "So, hire vampire hunters…to protect us?"

"To protect you," Cullen said, "I wish could do it myself, but they're our best option."

"Ok," I said, mind whirling, "What else is there?"

"There's La Mascarade Des Étoiles!" Alice burst out excitedly, "And the Carnival, the Consort's Assembly, need I go on?"

"You've been to one of these things before?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "No, none of the Brides have. It's so exciting though! We're going to meet other Brides!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm and said, "So its not all politics then?"

"No, its described as the vampire social event of the year. It's the only time vampires gather in one place. We'll meet other mates, swap stories, won't it be great?"

That side of it did sound pretty good. I grinned and nodded, while Carlisle said, "Well, problem solved. You are all dismissed."

He and Esme were gone in a flash; even Jenks got up and sauntered out, hardly saying a word. "Well dayum," Emmett said violet eyes sparkling playfully as he traced random patterns across Rose's stomach, "Are you excited Bitty-Bella? Or are you shitting in your pants?"

Cullen growled menacingly in my ear and Rose smacked at Emmett's hands, her voice an angry yelp, "Emmett! You are so crude! I swear, one of these days I'm going to sew up your mouth."

"Ooo, kinky. I like it babe," Emmett chuckled, kissing the place where Rose's shoulder met with her neck, while she giggled, instantly changing moods like a switch, turning to nuzzle her forehead against his temple.

I rolled my eyes and replied, "Why Emmett? Are you shitting in your pants?"

He chuckled against Rose's neck, "Hardly. I'm not scared of a few poncey vampires. You shouldn't be either. Union Hunters are badass. Wouldn't want to meet them in a bad mood." Jasper nodded in agreement, tightening his hold on Alice.

The idea of someone as huge as Emmett and as intimidating as Jasper being wary of something, sent an uneasy feeling through me. I glanced down at my watch, "I should be getting back. Charlie'll be wanting his supper."

"We need to plan a shopping date Bella. We'll need new clothes for Italy," Alice said, eyes still sparkling with excitement, "Not this weekend but the next one. Sound good?"

"Brilliant, because I love shopping so much," I said drily, "I cannot express my absolute adoration for all things that come with a price tag."

"Maybe you could teach Alice a few things about that adoration of yours," Jasper put in, grinning wolfishly at me.

Alice pinched his arm, "Not fair. You should see Bella's wardrobe. Its like a hopeless pit of drab clothes and boring shoes."

"Hey! I'm not the one who dresses for school like an extra for The Nightmare before Christmas," I retorted.

Cullen laughed but he got up, holding his hand out to me, "Let's go before an argument over bits of fabric erupts."

I sniggered and took his proffered hand. "See you guys tomorrow," I said as Cullen pulled me towards the door.

The last I heard was a series of farewells and Cullen and I made it back to the car. As Cullen began to drive us home I asked, "How do you feel about all of this? Hunters coming in to protect me and stuff."

He took a deep breath and his hands tightened on the steering wheel, "I wish I could do it myself but…it's a good substitute. Next to the Volturi, they are people you do not fuck with. You'll be in safe hands."

I looked up at him, brushed my fingers across his jaw, comforting myself with his touch, "I'll be fine. My badass plus their badass plus your general awesomeness," he smirked at that, "and we'll be safe as houses."

"I hope so," he whispered, "If I lose you…" he shuddered, the muscles in his jaw tightening, "I don't know what I would be driven to do. I've seen and heard of what vampires do when driven by the Blood Grief. It is never good."

"Blood Grief? Another thing failed to be mentioned by…anyone," I said wanly, "I feel like a fucking idiot sometimes. A cold-hearted one as well."

"I'm sorry. It's a lot to learn," he said, "and I know you are not cold-hearted. Your touches tell differently." He grinned crookedly, a grin that made everything all right again.I smiled back and relaxed in my seat. It was another couple of silent minutes before we were finally home. I wish I could say that everything after that was normal. That we went inside and I made the promised beef stroganoff for Charlie. That everything was all fucking daisies and butterflies.

But it wasn't. It never is really.

Jake was standing in the driveway, huge muscled arms folded across his bare-chest. His bare-chest? This was Forks, not fucking Barbados. What the hell was he thinking? At least he was wearing cargo shorts. His face had a determined and slightly scary look on his face, as if he was about to do something extremely unpleasant.

I hadn't seen him in ages. Or the Rez boys for the matter. Every time I managed to get a slice of free time, they never seemed to be home. And the times I had managed to catch Jake, he'd been cold, distant. I loathed it more than I could say. This was Jake. He was supposed to be safe. He was supposed to be home.

"What does he want?" Cullen asked, hostility rolling off him in waves.

"I don't know," I said, a frown creasing my forehead. I got out the car, ignoring Cullen's protest. Jake didn't smile at me; he continued to stare at me with that weird look on his face.

"What is it Jake?" I asked, making my voice deliberately gentle.

Jake unfolded his arms and jerked his head behind him, "We need to talk."

**What's gunna happen? **

**Bones**

**Random Fact # 9: I love tea. LOVE. IT. I drink about 5 cups a day sometimes. **


	11. Monster

_Monster  
_

__"Jake, what the fuck are you talking about?" I said, raising my eyebrows at him, "and why the hellare you dressed in only cut-offs? You look like you are about to go to a gay bar."

"Cut the crap, Bella. I'm not in the mood for your satirical bullshit," Jake said it in a bored tone. He was used to my sense of humour and was probably the only person who could tell me to shut up. Him and Cullen.

Speaking of which…

"Don't speak to her in that way," Cullen snapped, eyes darkening as he made his way around the car.

"I need to speak to Bella. Alone," Jake said, ignoring Cullen and focusing on me, "Its important."

Before I could reply, Cullen retorted sharply, "Not likely."

I stared angrily at him and said, "Edward, stop being my fucking mouth piece. Believe it or not, I have an opinion!"

I turned back to Jake and said with my voice calmer, "What about, Jake? Is it bad news?"

"…Sort of," he said, shifting a little, "As I said: I need to talk to you alone."

An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach like a stone and I turned to Cullen, "Cullen, this is important. Just give us 5, 10 minutes?"

"I don't trust him," he said, eyes angry but otherwise outwardly calm.I snorted, "This is Jake we are talking about. He won't hurt me."

"That's not what I'm worrying about," he growled, eyes flickering to time I did not laugh, "You have nothing to worry about. Please. He's my best friend." I gave him the look that usually had him give me my way. I manipulate my vampire. Sue me.

He ground his jaws together, but nodded, "Don't go too far, alright?"

I scowled at him, "I swear you're worse than Charlie."

"For a good reason," he replied irritably, "I mean it. Anything can be out in those woods."

"Oooh, like Godzilla? Or the teddy bear's picnic?" I asked sarcastically. But I moved towards him and pressed my lips against his jaw line, "I'll be fine. You'll see."

He cupped my cheek before dropping his hand away and gesturing for me to go. "You have trouble, you shout. And I mean it. Anything at all."

"Alright," I said, smiling comfortingly at him, "I promise."

I walked to where Jake stood and had to crane my neck to take a look at him. "Shall we go to the old den?"

He nodded, his eyes dark in a way that I did not like. We walked silently around and behind the house, side by side.

"So…it's getting pretty serious between you two," he said, his voice cold, unfriendly.

"You could say that," I replied, mirroring his tone, just as we reached the old den. If he wanted to play this game, then fine. I will fucking play it right back. I didn't make his choice to be a dick. The old den was basically bits of plywood nailed to trees to create a set of haphazard walls and a roof on the ground, but it had been where we would spend hours talking together. It was bit neglected now. I could see a sparrow's nest tucked away in a corner and gauzy spider webs draped across the plastic chairs and tables inside. "What's this about Jake? You've avoided me for a weeks and now you want to talk? What's wrong?"

Jake looked like he was gearing up for something. He exhaled slowly, his black eyes boring into mine before he said it, "We can't see each other anymore."

_Whoosh_. All the air went out of me, shrivelling me up. I resisted the urge to clutch at my chest but glared at Jake, not willing to go down without a fight. "Where the fuck has this come from?"

He shrugged, appearing not to care, but I knew better. He's not looking at me for long periods of time, he does that when he lies, "we just can't ok? We have our own shit to deal with."

"So we deal with it together, like we always have," I retorted, "We've been through too much shit together. When your mom died and your sisters left, I was there for you. When Granma Marie died, you were there for me. That's always the way its been and that's the way it will always be. Why the fuck are you spouting this crap at me?"

"Shit is different now. We're both too different. We're going on different ways. I think it is best we just-"

"Its because I'm one of them isn't it?" I demanded, hoping he'd prove me wrong, "Its because I'm a vampwhore."

He flinched at the last word but didn't deny it.

_Whoosh_. All the air. Gone.

"How am I any different because of it? I'm still Hells Bells. Your Hells Bells. I just happen to be with a vampire. I'm no different." I was pleading then, begging for him to forgive. To be the Jake I knew.

"You are different, way different. You like him for a start. You'd rather hang out with them than with us," he gesticulated violently back to the house, "Remember at Gran's funeral? You swore you would loathe the leeches for the rest of your life. You swore!"

I forced the prickling tears back and said, "I realised that not all of them are sick psychopaths. Maybe Gran's vampire was a one off."

"A one off? Did you hear the fucking news this morning? A drifter leech attacked and drained an entire slumber party in Seattle. They couldn't identify half the bodies because they were practically jelly on the floor. They are dangerous. They're monsters. And you're becoming one of them."

That's when I punched him, Hard. And God did my hand know it. My knuckles cracked, the sound echoing off the trees. "Holy-fucking-shit!" I clutched my hand, hissing swearwords through my teeth, "What the fuck is your face made of?" Glaring at him, I look my dislocated and broken fingers and fixed them into place. They healed instantly, the pain vanishing as quickly as it had come.

"See what I mean," he said coldly, "You're good as one of them now."

"Didn't seem to fucking matter before," I snapped back. My god, this hurts. Under my anger, I was hurting. It is like there is a dagger in my heart and every time he says something, someone takes its handle and twists it viciously. Why was he different? Who was he now? Taking a good look at him, a deep uneasiness settled over me. Jake's eyes were flickering away from my face before darting back again. He only did that when he was lying.

"This isn't you Jake. You're lying to me. What's the real reason? Hmm? Is it because I have a new boyfriend and its not you? What is it?" Get him angry. That's what ususally makes him spout the truth.

He clenched his jaw and his muscles flexed, eyes growing darker, "Be careful, Bella, be very careful."

"Why? I thought I was the fucking monster. Oh wait let me guess, you're the Hulk, I forgot," he was starting to look a little pissed now, eyes dark, but I carried on, because I was that fucking dumb. "You are so fucking in the right and I am so fucking in the wrong. I apologise. I apologise for not wanting you in the way that you want me. I am so fucked up only a leech will take me, and you know what? I enjoy it. I fucking enjoy it. I guess its because I don't want to fuck a guy who fucking barks in his sleep. You will never know what its like to sleep next to someone you love!"

I was suddenly slammed against a tree, blooms of colour spreading across my vision, as my head knocked against the wood. "Shut up. Shut the fuck up," Jake's face was inches from mine, his nose –no- _snout_ was brushing against mine, his eyes fully black so that there were no whites. Long dagger white teeth protruded from Jakes elongated muzzle. His face was sprouting hairs, thick and long, tickling my cheeks. "This is why," Jake roared into my face, making my eardrums rattle, "I'm a monster too!"

Fear was making me shake, my breaths coming out in quick pants, "Jake," I whispered, "Please…I'm sorry."

He didn't get a chance to reply. Cullen had already torn him away from me and smashed him into the den, fangs unsheathed, eyes black as an ocean at night. He snarled, his body taking a defensive position in front of me.

Jake's form was already pushing his way through the broken plywood, claws ripping through the flimsy pieces. He rose, shaking out his shaggy mane of russet fur, the stuff was sprouting along his bare chest, down his muscled arms to his clawed fingers. His feet had burst out of his shoes, his toes clawed just like his hands. His head had elongated, turned into a muzzle and his wild black eyes were burning with a ferocity that made it hard to look into them. He threw back his head and yowled, the sound making my heart race. Cullen snarled back, stalking forwards, his back towards me.

This was the first time ever I had felt terrified. Truly terrified. There's fear and then there's that. Through my utter horror, I managed to squeak out a couple of words, "Please…p-p-please, d-don't hurt each oth-ther."

Cullen tossed a look back at me and said in a double timbre voice, "Run Bella. Please, just run."My mind, stupid with fear, made my legs jerk into motion. My last look at the scene was of Edward, launching himself at Jake, Jake snapping and snarling. A small scream uttered from my lips and I turned away and stumbled over pits and sticks, running back to the house. I burst in through the back door, met with the sight of a startled Charlie, "Bella? What's the matter?"

Nausea churned in my stomach, and the room was starting to spin. I stumbled to the sink and vomited my lunch into it.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Bella, honey, where's this come from?" Charlie was stroking my hair back as I coughed into the basin, the bile burning my throat, "Take it easy sweetheart."

When the last of the vomit had been expelled, I turned on the faucet, rinsing out my mouth, "You ok now?" Charlie stood close next to me, rubbing my back.

"Remember dad, when I was afraid of the monster under the bed?" I suddenly asked, my voice hoarse.

He nodded, "You couldn't get to sleep most nights because of it."

"And you'd tell me there were no such things as monsters, and if there were, you'd protect me from them," I whispered, eyes burning.

"What's he done now?" Charlie said, his tone betraying anger.

"Its not Cullen's fault," I said, pushing back my hair with my hands.

"I heard yowlin's and roarin's out there. You and Jake playing African Safari again? Like when you were kids?"

He meant it as a joke, trying to cheer me up. It only made tears well up in my eyes, making his face become a pink blob with patches of brown.

"Jake and I…we've sort of…split up," I said chokingly, the words tasting foul in my mouth. I wasn't going to tell him about the werewolf part. Charlie's a simple guy. Not stupid, but there is only so much weird shit he can take.

The pink blob gasped, "Really?"

I could only manage a nod."I'm sorry Bella. How come?"

"We're going different ways," was all I said hoarsely, using _his_ words. Using the sleeve of my cardigan, I wiped my eyes."

I'm gonna go upstairs now," I said, my voice husky and nasal, "Whaddya say to take-out tonight?"

Charlie smiled understandingly and patted my back, "That's ok Bella. I'll be down here if you need me."

I nodded before treading upstairs and into my bedroom. I shut the door, and numbly set myself down on the bed. My schoolbag was propped neatly in the chair. Edward had obviously put it there before…before…

My breath caught, and I'm pretty sure I didn't breathe for a minute. All I could see was Jake, rising out of our childhood den: body of a man, head of a wolf. Snapping jaws, clicking claws, rippling russet fur. I began to choke again, my sobs making it hard to breathe.

I grabbed my pillow and howled into it, shaking with shock. Jake, my friend, my brother. One of them. "Oh God," I whispered into the now wet material, "Why you? Why couldn't they leave you alone? Why?" It was my fault. If I hadn't provoked him, if I hadn't said those cruel things, he'd still be my Jake. He'd still be my friend now. There was no turning back now.

In that moment, I hated myself so intensely it burned in my chest.

I am no better than Stanley and Mallory. Using cruel insults to delight in the anger and frustration of others. Cruel, spiteful, miserable, angry, stupid...

"Bella?" the quiet word landed on my ears, the smooth voice unsure of itself.

I pulled my head out of my pillow and looked at him, eyes red, face blotchy, face wet. Edward sat crouched on the windowsill, his sweater torn, his revealed flesh scarred and bleeding, crimson droplets dripping onto the white paint. His eyes were a deep emerald again and they seemed to burn like hot coals.

I scrubbed at my face and sniffled, saying stupidly, "You're bleeding."

He glanced down, as if only realising that his chest was covered in scars, "They'll heal in a minute."

He stepped carefully off the windowsill onto the carpet. He paced towards me, reaching out with his fingers to brush my cheek. But then recoiled, and I knew why. There was blood all over his fingers. If it was his or Jakes, I didn't know. I didn't want to know.

"Do you have a tissue?" he asked, eyes still focused on me.

I nodded towards my desk, where a box of them sat. I didn't watch him as he wiped himself down. He was by my side within a second, the bed dipping to accommodate is weight, making my body lean into his. I let it do so, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist and leaned us back, pulling the pillow behind us so we could rest our backs against the wall. "Is he…going to be ok?" I whispered, heart in my mouth.

"Jake is fine. He scarpered after we took a few swipes at each other, that's all," he said, his thumb making circling motions on my flesh, "Are you ok?"

I sniffled again, taking in his fresh scent of mint and lemons, "I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Bella. He didn't want you to find out about what he was. He didn't tell you because he wanted to save you from this…torment. And if you were to know…it wasn't to be in this way. I'm sorry, I knew you were best friends," his voice was calm, soothing, his hand tracing serene patterns across my stomach.

"Werewolves are real?" I whispered, "They're actually real?"

"Afraid so," he said, "They're not exactly fond of vampires either."

I pursed my lips together and closed my eyes forcing the tears back, "We've been friends since forever. And we're supposed to end it because we've ended up on two sides of a divide we barely know…"

"It's not right, I know. There's always been rivalry between vampires and werewolves. It's unfortunate that you're both on the opposite sides. I know you were close."

"Why won't this stop? Why can't things be the they've always been?"

"Bella…I…I don't know what to say," he finally said, sounding defeated, "That's not a feeling I'm accustomed to."

"Don't say anything then," I replied, moving my head to his chest, "I'd be quite happy to be quiet right now. I don't want to think, about anything."

I felt him nod and that's how we were for a while. I listened to the steady thump-thump of his heart. It was a bit slower than a human heart but it was there, under my ear. I thought about how vampires had been nicknamed 'corpses' and 'children of the dead'. How could they be called that when I can feel their heartbeat, pulsing just as strongly as mine own?

"Its official," I said, pressing my ear closer to his heart, "I declare that you have a heartbeat."

His chest rumbled with his laughter, and his fingers twisting around the locks of my hair, "That's good to know. I suppose you're an expert on heartbeats."

"I'm a fucking pro," I said, looking up at him grinning, "Whenever Gran or dad would read me stories, I would put my head over her heart and listen to it."

"I used to do the same to my mom," he said, smiling down at me, "My favourite book was Peter Pan and Wendy."

"Really?" I asked, "I loved the Narnia Chronicles and Alice in Wonderland."

He wrinkled his nose, "Too girly for me."

"And a boy in tights who talks to fairies isn't?" I teased.

"Cheeky," he admonished, fingers beginning to tickle my sides.

"I hate it when you do this!" I gasped between my laughter, "You play dirty."

His laughter mixed with my own as I wriggled onto my back, him now in-between my legs as he continued to tickle. "Stop! Please! I surrender! I surrender!"

"About fucking time," he whispered, his forehead nuzzling my own. He peppered my face with kisses, kissing me anywhere but my lips. "You smell like apples…and snow," he whispered, fingers tracing my collarbones.

"Didn't know snow had a scent," I whispered, trying to form coherent sentences without sounding stupid.

"Oh it does," he said, nose skimming along my jaw, "its one of the things I love about you."

"Great to know that you're with me 'cause I smell good," I was teasing again, tracing the contours of his face, down his neck to the collar of his ripped shirt, "Maybe you should take this off. Its not doing anything…"

He smirked and rocked back onto his haunches, I gripped the edges of the edges of his tattered sweater and pulled if off him. His cuts had healed, leaving smooth skin covering a six-pack and rippling pectorals. Oh. My. God. There should be a law stating that Edward Cullen was never allowed to wear a shirt. Ever. Under pain of…cockblocking. Yeah, that could work.

"Do you work out? Or are you just born with these?" I asked, tracing the lines of his body with reverent fingers.

He leaned over, putting his hands by my head, gazing with an unknown look on his face, "My brothers and I practice fighting, if that's what you mean."

"Hmm," I murmured, not really paying attention, "They're so…pretty."

He laughed, one arm scooping me up by the waist and flipping us over so I was straddling him. My hair formed a thick curtain around our faces. "Don't think my abs have ever been called pretty before."

I blushed, "Well they are. They're a fucking work of art."

He laughed again, capturing my lips in his own. "You are so good for the ego," he murmured against them, "Anything else you like about me?"

"You are such a fucking attention-whore," I laughed. I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends slightly. "I like your hair. I never thought gingers were my type, but you certainly rock the look. You prove that gingers do have souls. And its tuggable, gives something for me to hold on."

He chuckled, "What else?"

I traced the edge of his nose and under his eyes, then smoothed out his eyebrows, "Your eyes. I like that they're green. Being in a podunk town that is completely full of green, I thought I never would. But no, yours make the colour beautiful for me."

He was silent, we were trapped in our own little bubble. "Your lips," I said, tracing his pink soft mouth, "I fucking love your lips."

The corners of his mouth turned upwards, "Let just say, you know how to use them. You kiss like a pro. And you can say things that can make everything seem ok again. And then, there's your crooked, panty-dropping smile."

He grinned that same crooked smile and said, "I did not know I had a panty-dropping smile."

"Oh, you have one. And it works. Very well. It makes me want to kiss you all over again." I ran my hands down his arms, feeling the muscles ripple under my touch, "Then there's your arms."

"What about my arms?" he said, using said limbs to wrap around my waist and sitting up, with me still straddling his thighs.

"They're strong," I murmured, still running my hands up and down them, "They're always there to catch me, being the clumsy idiot that I am."

He wasn't smiling, but there was that weird look in his eyes again. He tangled his fingers in my hair, cupping the back of my skull, "Sounds like you are falling in love."

My throat constricted at the words and I closed my eyes, resting my forehead against his, "I… don't know. I feel so fucking confused right now. A few weeks ago, I hated you so much it made me feel physically sick. And now I don't even know that anymore. And Jake is a fucking werewolf. I have to go to Italy to parade in front of vampires that want to rip my throat out. I…I just don't know anymore. I don't know what's real and what's not. And don't even go there with my fucking hormones. I don't know what or who I am anymore because everything has been turned on its head. I just...I just don't know anymore. Its...frightening."

I opened my eyes to see his grass green ones staring levelly at me, "I understand," he whispered, giving me one encouraging smile, "I'm not expecting anything from you."

"Good, 'cause even I don't know what I am expecting from me," I said, stroking back his hair.

He smiled, pulling down my head to capture my lips once more. We were lost to the world, for a while. I did what I'd always secretly wanted to do: I drew the lines of his chest with my fingers. He would purr, (that was always something that delighted me - he fucking purred when I touched him) whisper sweet nothings against my lips, as he toyed with my hair. We were happy that way, not taking it any further.

"Bella! I got pizza! Get your ass down here," Charlie's voice shattered what little peace we had. I grumbled in annoyance and extracted myself from Edward's grasp. He held on for a moment before letting go reluctantly, a pouty scowl marring his face.

"'Fraid you can't come down with me. I suppose Charlie doesn't know you are up here, since you came here through my window. Charlie would kill you if he knew you had been in my room." I frowned for a minute, "This is the first time you have been in my room."

"Yes," he replied, "and I like it in here." He grinned crookedly and picked his tattered shirt off the floor, "I'll get a shirt from my house. I should be no longer than one minute."

I nodded, "Don't be too long. Will you come through the back door?"

"Mmhm," he affirmed, already crouched on the window's ledge.

I walked towards him and pressed my lips against his forehead, "Thank you, for being there."

He cupped my cheek, his beetle green eyes boring into mine, "I will always be here. See you in a minute."

He pressed his lips briefly against mine before he dropped to the ground below and running through the trees.

I sighed, feeling washed out from the emotional shit-storm I'd just been through and dawdled downstairs. Charlie already had the pizzas on the table, steaming gently. "Got your pepperoni," he said, already digging into his Hawaiian, "Where's vampboy?"

"Last I saw him, he was taking a walk," I lied, settling down in front of my own pizza.

Surprisingly, Charlie took my lie. Was that because he'd become gullible or was I becoming a good liar? Neither sounded particularly good.

"Hello," Edward came in through the back door, a sweater that looked exactly like the one he had been wearing, clinging to his form again, "I just went for a walk."

"Didn't know vampires could do that. Were you the source of all that yowlin' earlier? Almost sounded like a wolf… which I swear we don't get around these parts."

"I was hunting, actually Charlie. Animals. You must have heard the death rattle," Edward said this smoothly, effortlessly. It was like watching an actor who had perfected his role to a T.

His eyes slid to me and we exchanged a look. I twitched my lips into a shadow of a smile, before focusing on my pizza.

I wondered where Jake was right now. Was he running around, a wild animal rather than the funny, kind, guy I knew? Did he know? Was he aware?

_I'm sorry Jake._ That one thought revolved around my head, playing on repeat. _I'm so sorry._

**Jake's a werewolf! You see that coming? Poor Bella she's not feeling all that great. Though a little development with Bella and Edward. Much deserved, I think. What you guys think? Thank you for your comments and alerts! I heart you all! **

**Bones**

**Random Fact #10: I am really shy when you first meet me. But trust me, I get more insane the more I know you**.


	12. Odyssey

_Odyssey_

"I don't think I have ever seen this many bags in my life," I declared, staring at the cluster of designer bags scattered across the floor of Alice and Jasper's bedroom at the Crypt.

Alice giggled, as she began to sort the bags into 4 separate piles for each of us. "Isn't it the best thing you have ever seen in your entire life?" Rose and Kate were chatting in the window box, excitedly talking about the Masquerade.

"That's debatable," I said, swinging my legs on the edge of the bed I was sitting on. I was trying not to think of the extortionate amount of money I had been coerced into spending. Only that morning, Cullen had forced a sleek black card into my hands. "For emergencies….and for doing what girls do best." He had grinned and kissed the tip of my nose, while I ranted at him about how I do not do what girls do best, sexist prick. He only smiled at me. Fucker. He should have stopped them. Some fucking consort he is.

That's the thing about the Cullen's. Money is not an issue. It is never an issue. It was hard to swallow sometimes.

We were leaving the next day for Italy; my stomach was churning at the thought of it. Italy. Somewhere where I had always wanted to go but never under these sorts of circumstances. I was scared shitless but sort of excited as well.

I tentatively peeked into a bag with Chanel stamped on the side, as if a monster was going to jump out the bag and bite my head off. Silks, cashmeres and velvets met my eyes, a multitude of jewel colours. I twisted my face into a displeased look before letting go of the bag.

"This is what you are wearing tomorrow," Alice said, passing me on of the many Ralph Lauren bags amongst the pile, "Don't worry, its comfortable yet would look totally gorgeous on you. Can't have you arriving without wearing battle armour." To make me feel better about the whole ordeal, they were now referring to the hideously expensive clothes as armour. People are less likely to fuck with you if you're turned out like a supermodel.

I took the bag and glanced inside, noting the dark cotton material and the tan colour strappy high heels. On a fucking plane? Ayeesh..."Thanks, uhm…where's the suitcase so I can pack all of this?"

"Over there," she said, gesturing to the sleek brown leather duffle bag, "And if I see any of the crap you were wearing before, I will make your life hell."

I scowled, "Even my pyjamas?"Alice sighed, like a long-suffering primary school teacher, "We bought you pyjamas. Rather nice ones, with nice colours and nice silks. You're going to wear them, whether you like it or not. You look hot in them and Edward is going to think so too. Deal with it."

My scowl deepened and I huffed as Alice pushed the bags towards me. "They better be packed neatly. No creases!"

"Jesus woman! Chill the fuck out!" I yelped, getting as fast as I could away from her glare, gathering the bags up as I did, "I'll see you all tomorrow, ok?"

"Don't run away," Rose chipped in, grinning."

And don't show Edward the clothes. Make it a surprise," Kate said, excitement glimmering in her eyes.

I snorted, "What am I, twelve?"

"You do act like a twelve year old with a potty mouth," Alice admitted, "I honestly thought you were going to have a temper tantrum when we started trying on lingerie."

"I was not!" I retorted, face blushing red.

They all grinned and Alice replied, "Whatever pumpkin. We'll see you tomorrow."

I began dragging the multitude of bags out to the Beast, which had been parked outside the Crypt the whole day. Thankfully, it wasn't raining, so I managed to get all the bags into the truck bed without having to pull tarpaulin over it all. What damn shame it would be if it all got ruined and I couldn't wear it anymore…cough, cough…

When I got home, Charlie was still out fishing and Edward still out hunting. I went up to my room and packed quietly as the radio played, getting really into folding everything neatly into the bag, getting my mind off what I was actually packing for. When Charlie found out I was going to Italy for an indefinite period of time, he went crazy. "You can't skip school for some trip to Italy to prance about with some poncey vampires!" But Cullen somehow managed to shout through Charlie's rant to explain that this trip was important for easing me into the life of a vampire's consort. It had taken awhile for him to accept the fact I was going on this trip that I had no choice but to go. Charlie had ended up grumbling a series of; 'if anything happens to you, I swear to God-' and so forth. I was just glad he hadn't pulled a gun out on Cullen. I'd managed to get my teachers to set me work so I wouldn't fall behind as had the others and Cullen had promised to tutor me when he had the time.

In amongst all of this, I hadn't heard from Jake. Hadn't even seen him. I would sometimes stare at the phone, either waiting for it to ring or debating whether to call him myself. I plucked up the courage one time and managed to get an answer, but as soon as Billy's voice came over the phone, I hung up, throat thick and eyes stinging. I hadn't got a chance to say goodbye to him. Properly. Tell him I was sorry. Sometimes, late at night, I would sometimes see something hulking stand beneath my window, staring up at me. But I would blink and it would be gone, just a whisper in the forest.

I was so absorbed in packing that I didn't hear Charlie come through the came into my bedroom at the exact moment I was holding up a rather skimpy bikini Rose forced into my hands at the store. "Whatcha holdin', sweetheart?" he asked, still in his fishing gear.

I jumped and swore, stuffing the bikini into a side pocket, "nothing, nothing, just uh…packing for tomorrow."I swivelled to grin at him, hiding my embarrassment. He raised his eyebrows but only said, "I got fish fry from Harry for tonight. You don't need to cook."

"Cool," I said, nodding, "Uhm…I don't know when Cullen is getting back. He said he will be late…killing Bambi and all takes a long time apparently."

He chuckled and ruffled my hair, "Ok Bells. Dinner whenever you want it."

"Ok," I said, "Thanks."

He nodded, looking like he wanted to say something but instead quickly left, leaving the smell of water and fish behind him. I sighed through my nose and continued packing the rest of my clothes.

The evening was kind of boring. If you count worrying so much that you feel unable to eat dinner, boring. Cullen didn't return and I went to bed early, curling in on myself, trying to quell the nausea.

What felt like hours later, someone clambered through the window and settled on top of the covers, as I tried to drop off. Warm hands stroked back my hair and a pair of lips kissed my temple, lemons and mint swirling around me. "Sleep well, beautiful."

The nausea disappeared and I smiled, snuggling deeper under the covers. I fell asleep to the feeling of fingers stroking through my hair.

Next morning, I was up and ready to go at 8, dressed in a dark navy cotton shirtdress, a large brown belt around the waist and tan coloured strappy heels. I managed to paste on some make up that didn't make me look like a hooker, plaited my hair loosely and pulled up my canvas handbag. Looking the mirror, I decided I look rather good in my body armour. Like I knew what the fuck I was doing.

Ha, what a joke.

First time Edward looked at me in the kitchen, he froze, taking me in, and then grinned, "Beautiful as always." He said, lightly kissing my lips before gesturing to the table, "Apple and cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast."

Saying goodbye to Charlie was awkward to say the least. Cullen was out packing the bags into the car while Charlie and I looked at each other in the hallway, "Well…its gonna be weird without you around," he said, stuffing hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, its gonna be weird being away," I replied, shuffling my me up and down, he said, "You look so…grownup. No longer my...my little girl anymore."

Oh my god, my throat has a stone in it. Jesus-fucking-Christ. I smiled tentatively, tucking a tress of hair behind my ear, "Thank you."

"Bella? We need to be at the mansion. They're waiting," Cullen said, leaning against the door in black slacks and a blue polo shirt.

"Ok," I said, surprised that the time had finally come, clutching my bag tightly, "Seeya soon Dad."

He nodded, and suddenly wrapped his arms around me in an awkward hug, "You be careful now. But have a good time. You don't go to Italy everyday." My dad was start ing to realise he couldn't protect me anymore. It was hurting him.

"I know dad…uhm I'll send you a postcard, or something," my face was probably the colour of a fire engine as I choked out the words, "I-I love you. You know that, right?"

He nodded, arms quickly retracting and stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Yeah I know that. You know it too, don't cha?"

I nodded, "Uh…guess I better go."

He nodded again, smiling a tight smile before smacking me rather hard on the back, "Go get'em tiger."

Edward took my hand as my back throbbed at Charlie's show of gruffness. "You kids have fun," Charlie said, moving to the doorway as we stepped out to the car, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Thank you, Chief Swan," Cullen said smoothly, "And there's no need to worry, I'll keep her safe."

"I'm trusting you with that," Charlie said, eyes boring into Cullen, "You remember the talk we had, boy?"

"I do, I remember."

I looked at both of them curiously and then held my hands up, "You know what? I don't want to know. Bye Dad."

"Goodbye Bella, have a safe trip," Charlie said, changing from overprotective father to slightly emotional father, smiling and waving as we walked to the car and stepped in, Cullen carrying my bag.

My last vision of Charlie was him standing on the front porch, waving us off, with something unfathomable in his gaze. I forced the tears back and gave him one last wave before turning to the front.

"He's going to miss you," Cullen said, glancing at me.

"I know," I said, tracing the seams of my dress, "I've never been away from home before."

"You have nothing to be afraid of. Father called me about an hour ago. They're here."

My head turned to the ominous sound of his voice. He was gripping the steering wheel rather tightly. "You mean…the Hunters?"

He nodded.

"Are they scary?"

He chuckled, "I don't know, we'll see though."

We were quiet for the rest of the ride, until we pulled up outside the Crypt. The other cars that were there were a red 1960s Cadillac and 2 large sleek black Land Rovers. "They're all inside. Leave your bags for later," Cullen said, opening his door, "You ready for this?"

"Does Mel Gibson like Jews?"

He chuckled, "C'mon beautiful."

We got out the car and walked to the Crypt, hand in hand. It was surprisingly quiet in the house. We walked into the living room, where everyone was waiting stiffly on the plush sofas. Jenks was there, with several scary looking bodyguards in back suits standing around the room. As I swept my eyes around, I picked two more unfamiliar faces.

One of them had skin as dark as coffee beans, with similarly coloured eyes. This man had his shaven into having an intricate pattern detailed on the side of his skull. He had a wide nose and mouth, a mouth that wasn't smiling. An animal's sharp tooth was dangling from his left ear. His large hands were clasped in between his parted legs and he was dressed in a dark suit with a brilliant white shirt, a triangle of dark skin at the top. His skin was otherwise smooth apart from a pale scar lacerated around his throat in jaggy swipes. On a leather cord there was a small bronze dagger pendant dangling as he stared levelly at me. His face held a sort of deep focus that was both scary and intriguing at the same time. You wanted to know what he was concentrating on.

The person next to him however was completely different. Ice white skin, a scattering of freckles across her nose and piercing blue-green eyes that could cut diamonds, the woman's fiery red hair was tucked haphazardly under a deep blue knit cap, long strands of it touching her shoulders. She was only dressed in dark jeans, thick leather boots and a blue plaid shirt that matched her hat. Big silver hoops for earrings, she also had a leather cord bracelet with the exact same bronze dagger, dangling from her slender wrist, as her fingers were wrapped around a hot mug of tea.

"Ah, Bella, Edward, you're here," Dr Cullen moved forward from his position from the fireplace, "I'd like you to meet Kamau Diallo," the dark skinned man nodded his head towards us, face unchanged, "and Gael Byrne. They're from the Union."

The girl called Gael cocked her head onto one side and frowned at me, her turquoise eyes sweeping up and down my body with a critical look, saying with a thick Irish accent: "You're nothing like I imagined. You're the 'Girl who Ran'? Right?"

I frowned at her right back, "I ran from Edward, yeah."

Gael's frown deepened, her sharp eyes scanned me from head to foot again before she shrugged, turning back to her tea, "Definitely not what I imagined."

I felt like I had failed a test. In retaliation, I replied without thought, "Well you're not how I imagined. I thought gingers weren't allowed in positions where they can vent their anger."

The temperature of the room dropped. I heard Edward take a breath beside me. And then Gael laughed. She threw back her head and laughed with a loudness that surprised me, "You're funny," she chuckled, "As the Doc said, I'm Gael, and you can just call Kamour, Kam. We're your heavy duty protection."

"Right…Hunters," Cullen said, stiff beside me, "Only 2 of you."

Gael's eyes turned from warm and friendly to cold and hostile within two seconds flat, "Well firstly vampboy, it was short notice. Secondly there is rather nasty cult of witches in outer Mongolia that have an idea of resurrecting their demonic god so he can wreck havoc and bloodshed on the world…again. This has to be something like the 37th try but that doesn't make it any less important. You're not the only monsters we have to deal with. But Kam and I…we're a couple of the best Hunters the Union can provide. I'd appreciate a little respect."

Cullen growled but nodded, an arm wrapped tightly around my waist. Gael's face brightened and she set down her mug, "Well, now that we're all here, do you think we should move our bahooties? Unless there are any questions."

"My men will be driving in cars in front and behind our cars to Seattle airport. Kam will drive one car and Gael the other with us, are we clear?" Dr Cullen's eyes swept the room before nodding and said, "lets start."

The place was a blur of activity, people jostled to get out the front door. "You dressed in the right clothes! It's a sign," Alice said excitedly, "You look fabulous!"

"Thanks," I said blushing, eyeing the way the relatively small Irish girl swing my 20kg suitcase towards one of the Land Rovers like it was only a pillow. "What do you think of them? The Hunters?"

She frowned, "I'm not sure if I like them or not. Kam just stares at everything like its about to jump up and bite something and Gael…I think she can be nice, under all the snarking," Alice shrugged, "Its too early to tell. They are badass though, you can tell."

I laughed in agreement, feeling Edward tug on my hand, "C'mon sweetheart."

"I'm not a dog," I said irritably, but allowed him to pull at my hand towards the car Gael had just put all our bags into.

Rose and Emmett were already in the back, so Edward opened the front door and motioned me inside, smiling his panty dropping smile, "Apologies, how can I make it up to you?"

Mock thinking it out I replied, "Be my slave for the rest of eternity."

"I'm already your slave," he replied, still grinning.

"Corny," I replied, grinning widely, before getting into the car.

"You kids got your belts on? Can't have you all dying on the first day of this thing," Gael chuckled jovially, while starting the car.

"That's not very funny," Emmett said bluntly, I'd never heard him so un-amused.

Gael just rolled her eyes as we wended our way to the interstate, "Lighten up sonny-jim, it was only a joke. Jeez, you do sure live up to the reputation of vampires being depressed emos."

I smirked at that, looking out the window, watching the dreary world go by, "I thought you were a Hunter. Surely you know more than that about us?" Cullen asked.

"Its not like I sit down and have a good old chat with you guys over a cuppah. The vamps I hunt down are usually stark raving mad and not up to having a civilised conversation. I think it will be good for me, be able to get to talk to you guys finally, good for both of us in fact. You know what I'm saying?"

Another long pause before Gael whistled through her teeth and said, "Ok, tough crowd." Another silence, "If you want I can sing you an Irish song. I know American's get a kick out of my accent so maybe you'll find my singing entertaining."

"Why over here? Why so far away from home?" I suddenly asked, turning to look at her.

She smiled at the question and replied, "Its rather a long answer, it kinda includes my entire history. You sure you want to listen to me yak away? My Mam always said I could talk the teeth out of a saw."

"I don't mind. I don't like long car journeys," I smiled at her, "Tell me."

She nodded, smiling softly, "Well I was born in Bangor, tiny little village in the middle of nowhere, rather like Forks. I had a normal childhood, right up until the day I survived a car crash that should have at least left me paralysed from the waist down. The other driver, completely aff his face on whiskey, died on impact. I blacked out and woke up in hospital. I was told I would never be able to walk again. I don't know what it was; shock or defiance, which made me do what I did next. But I removed the bed covers, shoved myself onto my feet and walked."

"Woah," I muttered, "What's this got to do with-""It was how I found out I was a Hunter," she said quietly, "The next day, a representative for the Union came to see me and explained it all. It's a freak of genetics. Only a couple of hundred around the world each year carry the active gene for it. Mind you, you get the odd family that just seems to produce 'em like there's no tomorrow, like Kam's family. But because of that gene, I am able to heal wounds that would otherwise make me unable to hunt. Basically, I can heal from paralysis, infections, minor cuts and burns and such like but if I was dealt a blow to the heart or brain, I would die just like any normal human being. We can also scent and track any supernatural creature. We're also a little stronger and a little faster than the average human. Just enough to even the playing field between us and them." She grinned, showing perfect white pearly teeth, "If a human tried doing this job, they'd be dead within… a week? It's a job you're born for, makes the phrase 'career choice' kind of an oxymoron."

She paused, revealing a silence that sort of told people were listening. Another bright grin and she continued, "So, what has all this got to do with why I'm here? Well, since there is so few of us, after the 4 years of training, we're given placements of where we are most needed and that changes every 5 years. This is my second placement so far, last time I had been in Delhi, India and now they placed me in Seattle. The pay is excellent, as its an occupational hazard to get killed, tortured, cursed, sacrificed, forced into another world and many other fun things you can get doing this job. A Hunt can take you anywhere, depending how creative the prey is. It's a job without a moment's boredom, I love it."

"You're not as scary as I thought you would be," Rose said, leaning forward from the back, "You're actually kinda cute."

Gael laughed loudly again, eyes full of playful mirth, "That's because you haven't seen all of me, pet. This is Nice Gael. Hunter Gael is very different, I can assure you."

"Why doesn't your friend talk?" Emmett asked, "Kam hasn't said a word since you arrived."

There was a pause. A long heavy one. Gael was chewing on her tongue for a moment before replying, "Long story short, Kam had his tongue ripped out and his throat slit by a couple of pissed off fey on a Hunt. Thankfully he had made a distress call in time for us to get to him before he bled to death in the middle of the Gobi desert. He now communicates by sign language."

"Fey? Like faeries?" judging by what happened to Kam, I tried not to sound sceptical. All I could see was Tinkerbell smiling evilly with a kitchen knife.

"Yes, but real faeries are not the cute fluffy kind you see in kid's books. I mean the kind that generally fuck around with humans for fun. Mutilating human, tricking humans, trapping humans, they're nasty wee buggers in reality." Gael's face was a set of grim lines as she frowned at the road.

"What's real and what's not?" I asked, "I know there's vampires and werewolves but you've mentioned others…"

"Every legend has an element of truth in it," she said carefully, "I could be here until the cows come home and I still wouldn't be through all the creatures that are real. Most of them are monsters anyway."

"Oh," I said, deflating somewhat at the thought, "as if there wasn't enough already."

"I know," Gael sighed, "Its even worse when one of them revealed themselves to the general public." She gave a meaningful look to the backseat, irritation creasing her brow, "Do you have any idea how difficult things are now that everyone knows? I nearly got arrested because I was 'physically abusing' some crackhead vampire who was this close to turning a department store into a proverbial bloodbath. If the peeler had been successful, carnage would have ensued."

"There's a simple answer for that: reveal yourselves," Cullen said smoothly.

"We can't. Revealing ourselves would mean revealing the rest of the ties we have with other supe creatures. Creatures that wish to remain hidden. The Union is not up to pissing off the rest of the supernatural world, thank you very much."

"My heart bleeds for you," Emmett said sarcastically, "Must be so hard, slaughtering vampires in cold blood."

"Naw, that's sweet of you," Gael replied, in a saccharine sweet voice covering a quiet violence, "Makes me feel all warm and tingly all over."

"Please don't fight," Rose pleaded, "I don't want to deal with vampire/hunter feuds for the rest of the trip."

"Apologies Ma'am," Gael said, her voice calm and polite again, "I got carried away. It was unprofessional."

"Sorry Rosie," I heard Emmett whisper into Rosalie's hair, "I'll make it up to you later."

A quiet giggle and a rustle told me I did not want to look around. "Aw shite," Gael muttered, her eyes averting from the back, "I'd forgotten that vampires and their mates are horny bastards." She puffed out her cheeks as she blew all the air, "Its worse than porn."

"Jealous?" Cullen asked. I felt his hand at the nape of my neck, gently brushing aside the plait to trace the bones of my spine. I struggled against the shiver that ran up and down my spine at his touch.

"Nah, I prefer not to be dry humped in public by my boyfriend," Gael grinned mischievously.

"Your boyfriend a Hunter?" I asked.

"No, he's a firefighter," a secret smile rushed across her face and was gone before it could hold, "He's my little piece of normal."

"Oh... that's cute. Uhm… is he Irish too?" I asked.

"Nope, American," she said, "Has Edward been your only boyfriend?"

"Pretty much, yeah," I said."

I'm curious, why did you run away? At the beginning, when he Chose you," Gael asked, eyes flickering curiously at me. "It's a topic well discussed in the Union, believe me."

"You and the rest of the world," I muttered, "I ran away because I knew what it meant. I didn't feel any of that attraction I was supposed to have towards him. I knew; I would never have a normal life, that I'd be discriminated against for the years to come. I was terrified that I was being forced into loving a man who wasn't the right one for me. I wanted to escape," Cullen's hands froze but didn't move away from my neck.

"What changed?" Gael asked quietly.

"He turned out to be an alright guy and who wants normal anyway?" I said, pushing back into his touch. I turned to look at him and grinned. He smiled back, light jade eyes focused on me. "Smooth talker this one."

"I bet," she said, smiling knowingly, "You know what they call your lad? Among all the vampwhores? Vampadonis."

I burst out laughing, gasps of surprise coming from the back. I was laughing so hard, I clutched my ribs and snorted unattractively.

"Why did you tell her that?" I heard Cullen demand, "I was hoping to keep that from her."

"Because its too fecking funny," Gael was chortling also, "When I first heard it I nearly split my sides."

"Women," Cullen muttered under his breath.

**You like the hunters? They're my own characters...I think they're awesome personally but I don't know about you guys...**

**Plane journey next! **

**Bones **

**Random Fact #11: I do not understand the concept of iced tea. Its tea...its meant to be hot with milk and sugar, not with ice cubes. I mean...what**?


	13. Soar

**There may be a few mistakes because the computer is being gay with copy and pasting and I don't have enough time to go through it alL again on Doc manager. I'll correct it ASAP. **_  
_

_Soar_

"Alright m'dears," Gael's voice rang loud and clear, "Here we are. If you all wait in the cars before entering the plane, Kam and I will do a security check."

I watched as we pulled onto the private airstrip, pulling up next to a sleek silver plane. Rain battered the side of the car, making everything look grey and washed stopped the car and turned off the engine. Turning up the collar of her coat, she opened the car door. "See you in a tick," she said quickly before slamming the door and hurrying towards the plane. Kam came into view and they walked together, along with several others of Carlisle's men, towards the aeroplane.

I turned in my seat to look in the back, "Well…I haven't seen a stake yet, so I guess that's a good thing, Vampadonis." I had taken to calling him his nickname. Because it was too funny. And I loved watching his face when I said it. Fucking classic.

Edward rolled his eyes at me while Rose smirked and Emmett snorted, "Yes…that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I haven't felt the urge to rip their throats out, so that's always good."

"I thought they'd be scarier," Rose said, a disappointed edge to her voice.

"Couple of years ago, I was with a couple of friends in this underground vampire bar in Seattle," Emmett murmured, dark violet eyes serious for a moment, "It was a heavily guarded and secretive place, disguised as a slaughterhouse that you could so easily get lost in if you didn't know where to go. Only vampires were allowed in, no mates so as not to cause unnecessary violence that sometimes happens when you bring mates to that sort of place. And if you managed to find it, you had to go through at least four vampires to get to the floor.

"But anyway, so there we were, having a few drinks when a few metres away, a Hunter, who had managed to sneak past the guards to home in on this one target: a vampire named Goldstein, first name Harper. This guy had been distributing his blood as a drug to humans and so the Union wanted him for 'corruption of human lives'. This guy busts in and tries to get Goldstein subdued with a shot of dead man's blood. Goldstein freaks out, starts smashing the place up. And Goldstein, he was always known for being all brawn and no brain. But this Hunter, he hardly blinks. All it took him was an arm lock and a stab of a needle to have Goldstein sluggish and out of his skull. This man gave us all one piercing look before hoisting Goldstein on to his shoulders and carrying him out the building.

"Next time I saw Goldstein, he was…different. Fidgeted a lot, eyes always looking for an escape route and as soon as anyone mentioned the words 'Hunter' or 'Union' he'd have a fucking melt down." Emmett shook his head, his eyes holding a kind of seriousness I'd never seen in him before, "We're going to be fine with them, trust me."

I whistled through my teeth, trying to imagine Kam or Gael inflicting that kind of fear. This Union sounded not only strong but cruel as well.

"I sure hope we are ok with them," Rose grumbled, resting her head against Emmett's shoulder.

"I didn't know dead man's blood was a weakness for you lot," I said.

"Its like a poison; it weakens us but doesn't kill us," Edward quickly explained.

"Ah…and I'm curious, does your…blood have a street name or something? What does it do to you? –Sorry- to humans I mean?"

"Its effects are compared to that of heroin and ecstasy and are considered an aphrodisiac. But if used too much, it can lead to dementia, schizophrenia and paranoia. Real addicts can become dribbling messes at the end. I believe its known as 'Juice'." There was a quiet danger to Edward's tone, his eyes darkening a fraction, "I have to say, that is one of the few things I agree on with the Union."

"Do…do the Union know about the war?" I asked.

"Yes. They used to try their utmost to try to bring peace but have never even gotten close," Emmett shrugged, "Now they try to make sure no humans get caught in the crossfire."

"Hmm…" I murmured, watching Gael's red head appear out of the side of the aeroplane, followed closely by waved to us, beckoning us towards her, large white grin on her face.

"Time to roll," Emmett said, grazing his lips against Rose's temple before gripping the door handle and opening up to the blustering world.

"C'mon beautiful," Edward said with a gentle nerves I had been quelling rose up and I spluttered out, "Edward…I'm scared."

He paused, his face almost like grim stone before he replied, "I know…but you know what your grandmother said."

I smiled tentatively, "What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger."

He brushed his knuckles across my cheek, a warm smile breaking his stone face, "Atta girl."

My door was opened and he stood there again, black umbrella sheltering us. He held out his hand and I took it, as Gael opened the back. She called out over the loud rain, "You guys settle y'selves, a'right? We'll deal with the bags."

Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and we began to walk towards the inside of the plane just ran with the theme that seemed common with the Cullens- tasteful wealth. Plush cream leather chairs and sofas were scattered across the cabin, with small coffee tables and little splashes of red, such as small cushions and vases of crimson flowers, dotted around the cabin.

I feigned shock while exclaiming, "Shock! Horror! More wealth! My poor human heart cannot take much more luxury!" My hand fluttered to my chest as I pretended to faint, Cullen's arms catching me as I was about to laughed, kissed my temple and murmured, "You ditzy girl."

He set me to my feet, and led me down, weaving our way to one of the plush sofas. The others sat in the various sofas, as Cullen pulled me to his chest, so that I sat between his legs, our bodies stretched out on the sofa. A stewardess in a blood red jacket and skirt with a cream blouse came towards us, a welcoming smile on her lips. She said in a saccharine warm voice, "Good morning. My name is Alexia and I will be your stewardess for this flight. May I offer you something to eat or drink?"

I glanced up at Cullen and gave him one of my, 'how-can-you-be-this-rich' looks. He only smirked and pressed his lips to my hairline as I looked back at the woman, "I'd murder for a coke if you have it. Please."

"Of course. And for you, sir? The blood selection we have for today is a young Balinese non-virgin man, a female virgin from the Outer-Hebrides off the coast of Scotland and a Peruvian male from the edges of the amazon forest, virgin."

"Hmm… I'll take the Scottish girl, please," I heard Cullen's quiet murmur, his breath ghosting along the skin of my neck.

"Of course, I'll only be a minute," the stewardess was gone, leaving a cloud of sweet perfume in her wake.

"How does that work?" I asked him, taking his hand on mine own, "the whole, 'Scottish, Balinese, virgin, non-virgin,' blood thing. Does it affect the flavour or something? Like, how we have strawberry or chocolate flavoured milkshakes."

"Where someone comes from certainly effects the flavour," Cullen quietly explained, "for example, the Scottish girl will taste fresh, like the wind and the sea she has been surrounded by her whole life. The man from Peru will taste earthy and a little bit exotic. Whether the blood comes from a male or female source is also important. Females tend to taste sweeter, males are more savoury."

"What about virgins?" I asked again, tracing the bluish veins on the back of his hand, brushing over the cinnamon coloured fine hairs that dusted his skin.

"They are the sweetest, by far," he said, "second only to baby's blood, or so I'm told."

"Vampires drink baby's blood?" I said, horror coming into my tone and I twisted my body wot look at him.

"Only the ones who are depraved enough," he said, trailing his other hand through my hair, his eyes a soft pea green, "even most vampires understand the sanctity of life."

"Hmm," I murmured. "So what's the best blood you have ever tasted?"

"Why yours of course," he said, as if it was obvious.

I turned to look at him, eyebrow arched, "really?"

He stared evenly back, those pine needle eyes never leaving my face, "really."

I grinned at the thought, "what do I taste like?"

His forehead met mine and he breathed, "indescribable. There are no words."

This simple statement sent my mind reeling. Without thought, I surged forwards and took his lips. I kissed him like any girl would kiss her boyfriend. He met my enthusiasm with a calm tenderness, hand tangling in my hair as my hand fisted in his was the first to break away, my favourite crooked smile in place, "my girl."

I grinned, brushing my nose against his, "my boy."

"Madam, sir, your drinks." We turned on the stewardess who was still smiling like if she didn't all hell would break loose.

"Thank you," Cullen said, taking the wine glass filled with a thick red liquid gently steaming and handed me the glass of coke, the glass sweating with the she was gone, I sat up. Taking a sip, I watched Cullen drink. I became fascinated with the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he drank. Fuck me. People should record this shit. Forget porn, just watching Edward Cullen swallow is enough for anyone to get their rocks off. I licked my lips and found that I was parched. I swallowed down the coke and I heard Cullen chuckle. "Is Little Miss Bella flustered?"

"Shut up," I muttered, blood blossoming on my face.

"I really hope that your blush goes all over your body," a devilish grin spread across his face, and he brushed his fingers across my cheeks.

I tried very hard to scowl and failed miserably. "You know what? Underneath all the charm, you're just a dirty perv, Vampadonis."

"And it has taken you this long for you to work out?" he cradled my cheek, rubbing his thumb across my lips, "and in being the dirty old perv that I am, I would very much like to kiss you again."

Before I could reply, his lips had silenced me. For a while It was just toe curling bliss before the words, in a thick Irish accent, "Horny bastards," drifted to where we were pulled away.

Edward growled over my shoulder, "way to kill the mood, Hunter."

"Wouldn't want you to be makin' babies unnecessarily you know. You're too young and pretty to be havin' babies," Gael's voice held a dose of laughter, "'specially since your Ma is just down the other end of the cabin."

Edward groaned, his head dropping onto my shoulder, muttering something like 'cockblocker' into the skin of my 's loud laughter reverberated around the cabin and I smiled, stroking my fingers through the warm silk of Cullen's hair. I felt him smile and kiss the line of my neck. As Alice and Jasper walked by, Alice sniggered, going up on tiptoe to whisper something into Jasper's ear. Jasper only smiled and I gave them a confused look but Alice only shook her head and allowed Jasper to pull them down the gently pulled my face towards me, and began to gently pepper kisses on my cheeks, eyelids, forehead and jaw.

I rolled by eyes, "You're fucking insatiable and incorrigible, Vampadonis. That is not a good combination."

"Bella?""Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Ok."

_2 hours into flight_...

"So, you and Eddie, huh?" Rose waggled her eyebrows suggestively as we sat in our own corner of the cabin over our monkfish in saffron sauce meal, "getting frisky, eh?"

Fucking blush.

"... Well it's not like I'm a frigid bitch or anything... I'm not a frigid bitch, am I?"

"Nah, just stubborn," Alice shrugged, "Edward's a patient guy, you know. Looks like that patience is paying off."

I scowled at her, speared a piece of monkfish, stuffing it into my chuckled, "he is in a better mood because of it though. Less like some depressed philosophical bastard and more like a normal person."

I glanced over to where Cullen, Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were deep in discussion, heads gathered close together. I looked back at Rose and Alice again a contemplative look on my face. "If you told me a month ago I would have allowed a vampire to kiss me and more, I would have laughed at you and told you to go to the local mental asylum. And now here I am, going to a vampire conference with a vampire that I swore to hate for the rest of my life."

"You don't hate him anymore though," Rose said, a wide grin plastered on her face. I noddedand looked back at Cullen, a small smile gracing my lips, "you got that right."

_7 hours into flight..._

"Here it comes...oh... ah! No! Why does the Helen who had such a good life have to die and the Helen who had a shit time lives? They leave it with such an open ending and..."

Alice likes to talk through movies. Some may think its kind of cute but actually; it has to be the most annoying thing on the planet. I glance at Rose who gave me a withering look. I smirked, and glanced at the other end of the cabin where in the golden glow of the overhead lamps, Gael, Kam and the security force were poring over papers, murmuring in low tones. One of Kam's blades was glinting in the light as he flicked it, in a way one would flick a pen, between his fingers. Gael's brow was furrowed as she pointed and whispered. Every now and then Kam would tap her shoulder, put down his knife and flutter his hands in precise movements. Gael would focus closely on these hand movements before quickly translating to the others.

I looked back at the small screen, glad that the titles were finally rolling. I reach for A Room With a View and flick to the page I was at.

I love Alice, but I think if I have to listen to her running commentary on every single movie of this flight, I will throttle her.

_8 hours into flight..._

"Alright beautiful," someone pried the book from my fingers and two arms scooped me up from behind my knees and shoulders. I mumbled in protest. I'd been comfortable, goddammit.

"Shh, I'm just getting you somewhere more comfortable." Swaying from side to side, I felt air-conditioned air brush past me, while lemons and mint eddied around me. The sounds of the others drifted away, and I felt myself being settled onto something warm and soft. My shoes were slipped off, a blanket tucked up around my throat.

"Goodnight, beautiful," he whispered, brushing his lips against my forehead.

_11 hours into flight..._

I saw them again, at the small aeroplane bar, two tumbler glasses between them, speaking in those fluttered hand signals to each other.

I had managed to extract myself from Cullen's grasp, he must have joined me at some point, needing the toilet and yet came across the two Hunters having a quiet now and then, Gael would laugh and Kam would smile, his brilliant white teeth practically glowing against his dark the plane rocked with a jolt of turbulence, I stumbled, grabbing the wall for support. Gael's head snapped up and she caught me, standing awkwardly in the darkness, "Bella! Come join us," she patted the seat next to her and I tentatively moved forwards.

"What are you guys doing up?" I asked, standing closer to them waggled her eyebrows and said in a deep ominous voice, "Vampire hunters never sleep." Then she snorted and said, "Kam and I were having a nightcap before we took a kip. What about you?"

"Needed the toilet," I said, shrugging, folding my arms over my torso.

"Come on, sit down. Your makin' me narvous," Gael patted the seat next to her again, "What would you like to drink?"

"I'm fine thanks," I said, but settled down 's hands suddenly moved and made a series of complicated movements, his dark eyes fixed on me. Gael focused closely on his hands before glancing back up at me again and saying, "Kam would like to ask how you are feeling about this trip."

Startled, I quickly focussed on Kam as he stared calmly back at me, "Uh…shit scared would be close to what I'm feeling at the minute."

Kam smiled and again moved his hands in a series of quick movements.

"Kam says, its good to feel scared. Keeps you thinking," Gael interpreted, "and in the end, you've already got your vampire protectin' you and the Doc's enforcements and us. So…yeah no need to worry."

I smiled tightly and wishing to change the subject I asked, "So how did you two become partners?"

"Kam and I go way back, don't we Kam?" Gael slapped a hand on Kam's back and Kam grinned again, "We met in the Union Academy at 18 and we hated each other. I thought he was a stuck up prick because he thought he was better than me because of his lineage and he thought I was some backward Irish yob with a gobby mouth. But after 4 years of intense training together, we actually found we had a lot in common. We work best together and we look out for each other. We've been in some intense shite together. And we argue like an old couple. In fact, its like we are married to each other at work. It was only when I got a rather strong strain of food poisoning did Kam go on his own for a Hunt." A mess of anger and guilt sparked in Gael's eyes but it was gone in a second.

"How did you both find learning sign language?" I asked, leaning forward on the bar.

"Difficult," Gael said, and Kam nodded in agreement, "but we managed, didn't we?" Kam grinned and signed again, causing Gael to laugh; "You got that right."

I frowned in confusion and Gael explained, "He says its convenient to have a language very few people understand. We can talk shite about a person when they're standing in front of us. Its private joke of ours."

I sniggered, "I can see how that's useful."

"Damn straight," she said, an amused twinkle in her eye

."I have a question," I said, remembering Emmett's story from earlier, "when you catch a supernatural creature doing something wrong, what do you do with them?"

Gael's cheeks puffed out as she whistled, her face holding traces of…discomfort? "Well…I don't really know," she said, as Kam also started to look on the uneasy side, "Whenever I catch a supe (that's what we call them in the Union) I hand them over to the Department of the Inquisition." She shuddered, "it has to be the creepiest fucking department in the entire Union. Supes go in and come out…different. I have no clue what they do to them in there and I don't want to know." She shuddered and there was a long uncomfortable silence. All we could hear was the roar of the plane engines and the gentle snores and breaths of the people sleeping around us.

"So…are their any tips you can give me on how to deal with other vampires?" I asked, trying to quell my own uneasiness.

Gael's face became serious again as she said, "Don't speak out of turn. Some of these vampires are very old and are used to women being beneath them. Speaking with that sass you have will not make you very unpopular with the big shots. And if you're on your own and a vampire shows his fangs towards you: you run. Don't bother putting up a fight, just run and if you can, alert one of us. Trust no one but the Cullen's, the Denalis and the Bells. Always be on your guard. And if you absolutely have to…" Gael glanced around the cabin, before slipping something small and wooden into the palm of my hand, "Use this to defend yourself. I know your man is not going to be happy giving you this, but I think its best if you at least have some kind of protection."

I looked down to see a small blade made out of polished wood, the blade gleaming dully in the aeroplane's lights.

I swallowed the rising fear and nodded, looking back up at them. Both had grim faces as I said, "this is serious isn't it? This is nothing I have ever experienced before. I'm afraid of fucking up, of being a weakness. I'm afraid of people getting hurt. Of being a coward."

Kam began signing again and Gael deciphered: "I may have said that fear is a good thing; but there is one thing you must remember: courage is not the absence of fear, but the realisation there is something more important than it. It sounds like you have already realised there is something more important than your fear."

I took in these words, turning them over in my mind. When have I not been scared about something? Hmm…practically never. I've been scared of turning out like my mother, scared that my father will never find true happiness, scared that Jake's friendship would disappear over the years, scared of the monster who ripped my grandmother in half, scared of never getting out of Forks.

I am really fucking tired of being scared.

I grip the handle of my knife and clench my jaw.

Vampires?

Pshh.

I'm Bella Swan

The girl who ran.

_Arriving in Pisa_...

Staring out over the city, my stomach felt like it was being battered by butterflies. Forget butterflies. Moths. Great big fucking fat ones.

So much for being Bella fucking Swan.

"Bella, are you ok? It feels like you're about to break my fingers off," Cullen's lips brushed my ear as the city glittered beneath us in the Italian sun.

"Nervousness. I'm shitting bricks here," I hissed, tightening my hold on Edward's kissed my temple and murmured; "Think about having antipasto on a balcony overlooking the Venetian canals, while the sun sets over the Mediterranean."

I smiled at the image he was painting, "the Italian experience, huh?"

"Venetian experience," he said, and I could almost hear his crooked grin, "I'm going to take you to San Marco square to have coffee underneath the tower, where I'll buy you drawings of the canals and gondoliers. We are going to walk through the causeways to look at the art galleries and ancient stone buildings. We're going to find a shop with a tiny wizened Italian man who sells masks and Venetian glass to us. I'm going to take you to dinner by the Rialto Bridge. You are going to dress into one of your most beautiful dresses and I am going to take you to a masquerade and dance you off your feet."

I think this man has a direct line to my soppy romantic side.

This is scary shit.

I turned to him, and our foreheads met, our breaths intermingling. "You are too good for me."

His crooked smile is going to be the death of me, I swear. At least I'll die happy.

He pressed his lips against mine for a moment before we both looked out over Italy again.

**Boom! That was the plane ride! It was just pure fluffiness practically! With a little dark edge. Whatcha think? **

**I go home today...Canada, I love you. I don't wanna go :(**

**Bones**

**Random Fact #12: my first concert was Elton John... I don't even like his music (I was tagging along with my mum) but by God was that some show**


	14. Reach

_Reach_

Italy is now my most favourite country in the world.

_In the world_.

Seriously.

It's so _hot._

The kind of heat that sinks through the layers of your skin and heats the very marrow of your bones. And for a girl who has been stuck in a town that is freezing for most of the year, this is the most amazing phenomenon ever.

It's bright too. As we ride through Pisa in our tinted window Mercedes, we can see the buildings around us gleam a mixture of yellows, oranges and whites. Alice, Rosalie and I practically have our noses pressed up against the window. The people around us are brown and leathery; the whites of their teeth seem like neon signs. The tiny winding cobbled streets are filled with these people, coloured stalls are set up with boxes of different fruit, vegetables and meat set out in organised chaos.

As the city turned into countryside, the cluttered buildings disappeared and fields of dusty yellow and mottled greens spread out in patchwork quilt around the black tarmac road we were driving on. On hills we saw the twisted branches of olive trees, dry and crackly looking in the blazing sun.

I just stared dreamily over the fields, happy to just let it all wash over me. I was resting my head on my folded arms, which were resting on the juncture between the car window and door. Edward was right behind me; I could feel his long, tapered fingers playing with tendrils of my hair. Every now and then, he would reach forward and press his lips to my bared shoulder.

I don't remember a time when I had felt this happy.

"I can't believe we're in Italy!" Rosalie squealed, "Its so amazing!"

As the others talked excitedly, Edward and I were fine with just watching the scenery go by. Although I was pretty sure that Edward was not so much watching the scenery as watching me.

Meh, I'm used to it.

Getting off the plane was an entirely more elaborate than it would have needed to be than if we had been an entire group of humans. Before getting off, a light proof set of stairs had to be attached to the side of the plane. The end of the stairs had to be sort of enclosed onto the cars we were getting into. But even through the thick lightproof material that surrounded us, the Mediterranean heat still managed to get through, swirling around us invitingly as we slid into the also light proof car.

The instant I felt that heat, I couldn't honestly wait to lie in it all day.

I wasn't going to think about vampire shit for a while. This was Italy, where I had dreamed of going since I was small. It maybe for a morbid reason, but beggars can't be choosers.

***B*F***

"There it is!"

Some hours later, I followed the end of Gael's finger up to the Italian town that sat on the top of a gently sloping hill. I'd imagined a dark castle with lots of turrets, stonewalls and moats and shit like that. Its kind of harmless looking like any other Italian village on a hill. As we wound our way up the twisting dusty tarmac road, I saw how the yellow walls were decorated with strips of fluttering red fabric, the emblem of Volturi stamped in black on the material: a V with a crest in the centre, looking vaguely threatening.

As we entered the town, guards in dark uniforms directed us to the centre of the town, where the main Keep was situated. We drove through a gatehouse, more guards passing on either side of us but this time, they were in cloaks of deep crimson, their hoods up and black masks covering their faces, with only three tiny slits for the mouth and eyes. Carlisle had to stop the car and roll the window down as the guards signalled to stop. I heard them talking in low voices, the eyes behind the masks sweeping the insides of the car. They settled on me for a moment and their eyes glittered with a malice that scared me. Edward gripped my thigh tightly, almost to the point of pain, and growled threateningly at the eyes. The guard seemed to snort, tore his eyes away from us, and continued his conversation with Carlisle. The tension was so thick; you could cut a knife through it. Even Gael's usually smiling face had dissolved into a picture of stone sobriety. Edward would not let go of my thigh. I knew that telling him to let go was not going to help. So I only folded my hand over his and smoothed the clenching muscles.

It seemed like a million and one years before they finally let us through. We drove away from the guards and I watched them leering in the car window.

"Creepy bastards," I muttered, as we circled into a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, the drops sparkling in the sun. Mediterranean flowers overflowed in pottery vases set around the courtyard and carved statues of naked men and women interspersed between them. The age of this place weighed heavy on my shoulders as the car pulled to a smooth halt by large oak double doors, open wide to reveal the cool dark interior of the keep. Footmen hurried to us, opening the doors and gesturing for us to get out. I pulled myself up and out standing in the shadow of the huge, old building.

Edward followed, careful to keep within the shade. Gael was helping the bellboys remove the baggage from the back of the car as the others gathered under the shade of the Keep. A beautiful woman stepped out not the steps, a welcoming grin splitting her cheeks. "Welcome to Volterra! My name is Gianna, you must be Cullen Coven. Follow me, and I will show you to your quarters." She said this in flawless English, with only a slight accent, her warm brown eyes sweeping over all of us.

She turned and bustled away, her long caramel coloured ponytail swinging from side to side as she walked. Edward curved an arm around my waist as we walked behind her. I kept close to him, as our shoes clacked against the marble floor. It was cool in there; mosaics of battles decorated the walls and floor. The place emitted casual intimidating power and I swallowed as we passed through.

"How was your journey?" Gianna asked politely, tossing her caramel hair over her shoulder as she looked at us.

"Very well," Dr Cullen said smoothly, walking close to Gianna, while holding Esme's hand as they walked, "When are the Volturi Brothers expecting me?"

"Aro Volturi requests the presence of you and your sons as soon as you are settled in," Gianna said formally, glancing over all of once more.

"What about mates?" Alice asked, skipping up to catch up with the long legged stride of Gianna.

"Mates can explore the grounds as much as they like but are not allowed in rooms that are locked. Dinner will be served in the Dining Hall at 7 for those who want it."

"So who else has arrived?"

"The Bell, Xi and Rahotep Covens are all here," she said, slowing by a pair of panelled doors, "these are your rooms." She opened them to reveal an opulent living room, with gold chairs and walls, French windows which were shuttered were on the right. 5 other doors were set into the walls, panelled with oak wood. "There are 5 bedrooms, one for each couple and," her face twisted into a slight look of contempt, "one for the hunters. There is also a main living area to commune."

We heard thuds and huffs coming behind us and we stepped aside as Gael, Kam and the bellhops carried our luggage across the threshold. Gael huffed a stream of red hair out of her eyes, heaving one of Alice's huge suitcases, "Bloody hell woman, what did you put in here? The kitchen sink? A spare fridge? The entire Australian continent?"

Gianna frowned in distaste as Kam and Gael dumped the bags on the sofa. Gael wiped her forehead with her sleeve and plucked at her shirt, her cheeks puffing out as she blew air out, "is it just me or is it hotter than hell in here?"

Kam's hands did a series of quick movements, a glint in his eyes, and Gael burst out laughing, hands clutching at her sides.

Gianna's look of distaste increased before she glanced back at us, "I'll leave you to get settled in. Remember to meet with Their Graces as soon as you have unpacked." Gianna whisked away before we could reply, leaving us in by these luxurious rooms.

Gael, now recovered, rolled her eyes and shook her head, "well she didn't have a pole stuck up her arse." She glanced at Doctor Cullen and asked, "we're gonna just check this place, and then leave you all to settle in."

Doctor Cullen nodded and waved his hand to his employees, who had come along with the carrying of the luggage, "Help them."

We waited for 10 minutes as they scanned the rooms, searching every cranny for any sort of 'bugs'. Edward took this time to suddenly push me up against the wall and kiss me with a passion that made me weak at the knees.

He cupped my face and took my waist flush against his. I could feel the slight pinch of fangs against my lip and I moaned low into his mouth. I could feel his grin as he finally pulled away, brushing my hair out of my eyes, "what the hell was that, Vampadonis?" I asked weakly, tracing my fingers over his jaw, "not that it wasn't welcome..."

"Just so that I have something to hold onto for the next few hours," he bent to kiss the line of my neck, pausing over my pulse. He licked it, slowly making me shiver. Over his shoulder, I could see the others were completely oblivious to this as if it was normal occurrence for them. I gently tugged on his hair and the other hand skimmed down to the edge of his shirt, gently toying with it. He growled, tightened his grip on my waist, "don't tease Bella. Not with me."

"Ahright ye horny bastards, the rooms are free for your perusal and your baby making," Gael's voice rang out again, mischievousness in her tone, "get a room you two."

"Not funny, Hunter!" Edward snarled to the side, staring daggers at the grinning redhead.

She sniggered before waltzing off into the rooms again, whistling as she went.

"I'm going to kill her by the end of this trip," Edward swore, pulling me away and walking us into the rooms. He picked up our luggage along the way and led us to one of the rooms, pushing our way into a beautiful room with a double bed and expensive paintings of Italian landscapes.

"Ok then," I said, as Edward placed the bags on the bed. I glanced around the room, taking in the huge wardrobe, large windows that would probably have a fantastic view, the en suite with him and her sinks. "This is…too weird. I'm in Italy. Here. This is Italy."

He laughed, wrapped his arms around my waist, "Indeed we are."

"I think I am going to explore after unpacking."

His brow creased and he took my chin, "Don't go on your own. Ask the others, and have Kam or Gael with you when you go."

I didn't dispute this. This wasn't Forks, where the worst thing I could come across was a logger who had had too many beers.

"That's my girl," he said, kissing my forehead and tightly embracing me before pulling away. He glanced at the double bed and grinned widely, "Look, we're sharing a bed."

I arched my eyebrows at him, while moving to pop my case open "I swear, you feel me up and try to disguise it as 'embracing' they'll be hell to pay."

"Sounds terrifying," he said it mockingly, as I began to separate my clothes out, his eyes sparkling teasingly.

"Was that sarcasm? 'Cos you should be afraid, very afraid," I bantered.

That's when he threw one of those tiny throw pillows from the bed at my head. As it bounced off my forehead and rolled to the floor, I stared at him incredulously. "You didn't." I said it slowly, dropping the silk shirt I was holding in my hands.

"I think…I did," he teased back, walking around the bed so that it sat between us.

I gave a disbelieving laugh, then snatched a pillow and lobbed it at his head. He ducked, grabbed one of the larger pillows and hit me on the waist. "Dick!" I yelled at him, uncaring if other people heard and also grabbed on of the larger pillows to smack it over his head.

I hopped up onto the bed, laughing my ass off as I dodged another blow from him. "Bring it Vampadonis!" I threatened at him, swinging the pillow between my hands, "I've got an Egyptian cotton, goose down, worth hundred of thousands of billions of dollars pillow in my hands and I am not afraid to use it."

He laughed raucously and whipped the pillow out against my legs. The suitcase fell off the bed, along with all the clothes but we kinda didn't care. It somehow ended up with me lying on the bed underneath being kissed senseless by him, his hands on my boobs, mine in his hair. He kneaded my flesh, making me arch up into his touch, moaning hotly into his mouth.

He felt so fucking good.

…Yeah, we are horny bastards.

"Edward its time to head- woah! Get in there, stud!"

Emmett's loud booming voice shocked us apart and Edward stood up, smoothing his rumpled shirt, only looking slightly irritated as Emmett guffawed in the doorway. I huffed my tousled hair out of my eyes and scowled at him, "Seriously Em? What would Rose say?"

He sniggered and Edward said exasperatedly, "Can't you knock? I was in the middle of something."

"She let you touch her tit! Call the fucking new stations! Hell! Call the President, because this is fucking HUGE!"

"FUCK OFF EMMETT!" I shouted, taking one of our discarded pillows and throwing it at his head. He ducked away and ran laughing like a hyena and telling everyone who asked him what was up: "Bella let Edward touch her tit!"

I groan and slump onto the bed again, arm over my face to hide the blush. Edward seemed completely at ease. He even laughed. Fucker. "That's my brother for you." He leaned down, pried the arm away from my face and kissed my burning forehead, cheeks and finally my mouth, "I'll see you soon, princess. Keep safe."

I grumbled, gave him one last kiss and he was gone. I leaned up on my elbows, trying to get my body to quit humming with restrained energy. I felt like a light bulb: hot and glowing. "Aw shit," I muttered to myself, before smoothing the material of my dress and standing up again. I picked up the strewn of pieces of silks and satins off the floor and began putting them away extra neatly, getting myself ready for the storm.

And it came in the form of Alice Brandon.

"You let Edward touch your _boob_? Fucking hell woman, you're finally thawing!"

Alice whirled in like an electric storm, grinning like a maniac, Rose following. Rose settled on the bed, eyeing the scattered clothing and pillows, and then also starting to grin like a maniac, "The Ruining of Bella Swan continues. Fuck me dude, I bet under all that prudishness, you're a nymphomaniac."

"_Shut up_," I growl, taking extra care to fold a cotton shirt so that it was symmetrical, "do not tease me about this for the rest of the day, _please_."

"Nuh-uh, not a chance sweety," Alice replied chirpily, "Sucks having us as your sisters, don't it?"

"And Emmett as a brother," I gave Rose daggers, "Seriously, can't you reel him in?"

"I secretly love the fact that he has the mind set of a two year old, so no," Rose said simply, stretching languorously on the bedspread, "Suck it up: this is the Cullen family. Deal."

I grumbled but said nothing more, and continued to unpack, "What do you say to taking a look around, with Gael or Kam or both? Get a feel for the place."

"Sure, Bella 'I-let-Edward-Cullen-touch-my-prudy-tits' Swan," Rose chirped and Alice sniggered behind her back.

"Whatever," I said, trying to act unaffected and failing miserably.

After unpacking, we went to knock on the Hunters' door. Kam answered it, looking intently at us. Alice was the first to speak, "Uhm…hai," it was first time Alice had ever been loss for words, like ever. Kam continued to stare silently at all of us, eyebrow arched in question now.

Alice stumbled on, twisting the ring Jasper gave her for her birthday around and around her right finger, "W-we were wondering…if you cooould-uhm…escort us, while we're liiike…exploring the palace and…stuff…"

Alice trailed off, looking terrified but Kam didn't seem to mind at all. He nodded slowly, took out a pen and notepad and scribbled in spidery writing: _G in shower. I'll escort you around the Keep. Let me just get my things_.

He disappeared into the room and came back within a second, tucking something into the inside of his jacket. He took out the notepad again and wrote: _I will walk a few paces behind you for privacy. You only need to shout if you need me_.

"Thanks Kam," I said gratefully, speaking when the others were silent. He nodded and smiled that brilliant white grin, his animal tooth swinging slightly.

We walked out of the rooms and began to wander around the huge building, walking through huge halls made of cold marble, past paintings of long dead aristocrats and their wives, under chandeliers that glittered with crystal and past stunning windows showing views of the Italian landscape. Kam did as he had written, walking a few steps behind us as we talked and admired. Alice and Rose continued to tease me and I teased right back, reminding them of all the numerous times I had walked in on them in compromising situations.

We stumbled upon a courtyard garden, filled flowers and small benches to sit in the blazing sun. "I could get used to this," Rose sighed, spreading her arms wide in the wonderful heat.

"Tell me about it," I said, glancing around the garden, "not sure about the décor though. It's all, I don't know…a bit much? I mean, that tiger skin rug and the trophy of its head right above it was plain fucking creepy."

"Well the Romans were big on impressing people," Rose said, "Volturi must have wanted the biggest and most ostentatious castle they could have."

"Actually, this place was first built in the Etruscan period in the 8th century BC," a British voice rang out, cutting into our conversation and scaring shit out of us.

"Holy crap!" Alice yelled, practically jumping out of her skin. My heart jumped into my throat and I swore as our eyes fell upon a small pale girl that had come around a rose bush, book in hand. Her hazel eyes were wide with shock and she stuttered, "Oh I-I-I am sssoooo sorry! I d-didn't mean to sc-scare you."

She nearly dropped the large heavy book she was carrying, her face a perfect picture of shock.

Kam was by our side now, his nostrils flared, eyes darting around us to check that we were ok.

"Its ok," I said breathlessly to the girl, "gave us a bit of a shock that's all." I turned to Kam, "We're ok, false alarm, we're ok."

He took in my words with a slow nod, still eyeing us all, especially the pale, willowy girl with frizzy brown hair and wide hazel eyes behind thick-framed glasses. She watched him, looking utterly petrified; her thick book now clutched to her chest like it was her only protection. "I'm really sorry," she whispered, looking close to tears.

Kam gave another slow nod, eyeing her from head to toe before stalking off again.

The girl didn't relax though; she seemed to clasp the book harder as we all watched him walk away. Alice was the first to speak. She patted her heart again and also stared at the stone still girl that stood before us, "don't worry about him. He's a Hunter, so he's bound to be a little creepy. I'm Alice Brandon, and these are my friends, or sisters practically, Rosalie Hale and Bella Swan."

The girl's flickered to each of us before she gave tentative smile, "Yo-you all h-have su-such pre-pretty names. B-better thuh-than muh-muh-mine."

She pushed up her glasses and said, "Muh-my naaaaayymes, A-Agatha. Agatha Turnbrook." She scowled over the last sentence and muttered, her stammer starting to smooth out again, "d-don't know what my parents were thuh-thinking."

I couldn't help but smile at this utterly socially awkward girl. She looked extremely uncomfortable in the pretty summer dress she was wearing, as she kept trying to pull the hem down over her pallid knees. Her glasses kept slipping down her nose, so she constantly pushed them back up. I read the title of the thick leather tome she was carrying to be: _A History of the Mayans by Arnold Paradis_. "Well, thank you," Rose said, arching one perfect eyebrow at the girl, "You're name's not that bad."

"I share a name with the butch headmistress in _Matilda_," Agatha said miserably, "It is that bad."

She shuffled her feet for a moment, looking even more uncomfortable. A blush that rivalled my own travelled up her neck, through her cheeks and heated her brow. "So…" Alice said, swinging her arms as we all stared at the painfully shy Agatha, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh! Yeah, I uhm I'm with the Bell Coven," she said, "I'm a consort to Jack, the middle son."

We all glanced at each other, startled. I think we all assumed this girl was just a tourist or something. She looked so out of place here. "Really?" Rosalie asked, surprise unhidden in her tone.

Agatha was starting to look quite flustered, "Yes. I am." She shuffled her feet again and then blurted, "You sound American. Are you with the Cullens?"

We all nodded, and she seemed to relax a little, "Oh! You're all a lot younger than I thought you would be. I thought I would be the youngest."

She coughed pushed her glasses up her nose again and then ask, "So you are all consorts, like me."

"Yeah," I replied, taking a step towards her, "its nice to meet you."

Then she smiled. Properly smiled. It broke across her face and her tense position seem to melt, "Its nice to meet you too! The only other consorts I get to talk to are Maggie and Siobhan. And they're really nice but much older than me. I mean; Maggie is even expecting a kid as well. Makes it kinda…lonely sometimes." She sighed and shrugged, "So who are you all mated to?"

"Rose is mated to Emmett, Alice to Jasper and I'm to Edward," I explained.

Her eyes widened behind her glasses and she gasped, "You're…oh my god, you're that girl from the telly! The one that ran away." She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, you must get that all the time."

"Its alright, I'm used to it," I said, waving my hand.

She smiled sympathetically, "must be hard. Adjusting to it all with the world watching." She swung her arms again, "Jack and the others would really like to meet you. Edward, Emmett and Jasper are good friends with them."

Rose cocked her head onto one side and frowned at this girl, "Soooo…you're from England?"

"I'm from Edinburgh actually," she said, "Scotland. The Bell Coven originates from South England though. Are you all from the same area?"

"Yeah, all from Forks, Washington," Alice said, as we all began to inch closer to each other.

"What are the chances? All of the Cullen's consorts being in one area. Must be pretty high," Agatha said thoughtfully, tapping a random rhythm on the spine of her book. "I mean Siobhan's from Anglesey, Maggie's from Dublin and I'm from Edinburgh, we were all pretty spread out. It was only by chance I met Jack. To think, my teacher hadn't changed classrooms last minute, Jack would have passed right through my school without even catching a glimpse of me."

She sighed and grinned, "I think about that too much sometimes."

"When did Jack M' you?" Alice asked.

"Oh, about 2 months before the great Unveiling," she said, nodding eagerly. "So pretty recently. He's the first proper boyfriend I've ever had."

She smiled sweetly at that, before she shook herself and said, "what about you? You all must have been pretty recent…"

After a shy start, we all got to talking with Agatha, the first mate we have met outside of America. Her shyness, once broken through, revealed someone who actually quite liked to talk. A lot. She went to a private school in Edinburgh and was the only Mated girl who still went to school on the entire island of Britain and she was ecstatic to find other Mates her age. She liked history of any kind and was aiming to study it in university as she was in her last year of school. And she adored her vampire; Jack. She'd get this dreamy look in her eyes whenever she mentioned him and would blush profusely. She was sweet and seemed utterly the wrong type of girl to be entangled with a vampire.

"How did you find adjusting to it all?" she asked. We were now sitting on one of the benches, soaking up the sun as it fell on our shoulders, "Y'know…the discrimination and stuff."

"It wasn't easy for any of us," Rose said quietly, smoothing her hands over her skirt, "it was…hard to deal with my parents. They… weren't all that understanding."

I squeezed her hand and gave her a comforting smile. Her parents had all but thrown her in the trash when they found out what had happened to her. Agatha stared down at her hands and said, "That must be horrible. My parents were shocked and I don't think they approve but…they still stick by me. I can't imagine…anyway how about school for you?"

Alice snorted, "There's just the cattle, and there's not a lot you can do about that. Its ok, 'cause we have each other though. What about you? All on your own…"

Agatha's smile became very fixed, "Well…I'm not exactly a social butterfly in the first place. It's a really religious private school. There's a few nice people who still talk to me but when the Unveiling happened...I was...I was..." she seemed to choke, gripping her book so hard I'm surprised it didn't rip in half. "But that's over now," she said firmly, more to reassure herself than anyone else, "my best friend still sticks by me and I'm left alone for the most part. They'd have kicked me out if Alastair hadn't threatened to withdraw the donation he had made to them to pay for the new science building. But sometimes…I find nasty notes and other...things on my desk and I eat lunch in the library, going into the dining hall is like going into the lion's den. Its hard but…at least I still get to learn and I'd take it all to be with Jack." She smiled a watery smile, "he makes it all ok again."

Too. Effing. Cute.

"Excuse me, Miss Swan?"

We all jump and swivel to face Gianna again, who stood at a polite distance. "Yeah?" I asked, a surprised tone to my voice.

She smiled her plastic smile at me again, "Aro Volturi requests your presence in the Main Chamber."

The blood in my face drained away, probably making my face look like bleached bone.

"Bella, you're gonna be ok," Rose said quickly, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly, "just keep your head and don't say anything that could set them off. And if something goes wrong, Edward will be with you. He won't let anything happen. You can count on that."

I could only nod, my body feeling cold even when I had sat in the sun for a past hour. Kam had silently moved towards us, his eyes flickering all over us again. When I met his eyes, they seemed to burn into mine for a second, reminding me of our conversation in the plane. I steeled myself, clenched my jaw and stood up, smoothing out my dress.

'Cause I'm Bella Swan.

The Girl who Ran.

"Show me the way," I asked Gianna, and followed her out of the courtyard.

**I'm hame! (that's how you say it in Scotland fyi) I'm sad and glad at the same time. I loved Canada but there is nothing like the feeling of coming home. **

**Anyway, how'd you like Agatha? Personally I think she is adorkable, but what about you guys?**

**Thank you for all your support! Its so awesome and encouraging to see!**

**Speak to you soon!**

**Bones**

**Random Fact ****# 13: I have never supported a sports team. That sort of thing has never really interested me, but I have always watched the 6 Nations Rugby when it come around. Go Scotland, Land of the Brave! **


	15. Judgement

**I do not own Twilight.**

**WARNING: Violence, pretty graphic. I will put a wee star where it starts and where it ends in case you don't like reading it.**

_Judgement  
_

The clacking of Gianna's heels echoed along the halls and in my ears. My fingernails plucked at my watch strap and picked at my fingernails, sickly terror a stone in the pit of my stomach. I followed Gianna through halls that seemed to get darker and darker, the elegant wall sconces replaced by flickering torches, the beautiful paintings getting fewer and fewer until there was only rough stone wall. The temperature dropped too, I rubbed my hands over my bare arms to smooth out the goose bumps forming there. The smell was musty cool; the kind you got in museums and the age of this place numbed my mind a little.

I tried to prepare myself for what was about to come, but I found myself at an utter loss. I mean: what do you expect at a council of some of the most powerful vampires in the world?

…That's what I thought.

Argh!

It felt barely seconds before we finally stopped outside a pair of thick oak doors, studded with bolts of iron. Two male guards stood by the doors and Gianna spoke in rapid Italian to them. They nodded and pulled back a heavy looking wood plank. They heaved the doors open, clanking and grinding as it went.

I wiped my sweaty palms on the back of my dress and followed Gianna in.

The Volturi brothers sure excel in terrifying decor.

*A huge vaulted ceiling, with paintings of bloody gory vampire battles. I knew they were vampire paintings because of depictions of vampires feeding from the heart, hands clawing onto the split rib cages of the screaming humans, blood running in rivulets down their skin.* I tore my eyes away from the grotesque ceiling to glance at the flickering torches that lined the walls. Gianna's heels clicked against a smooth expanse of reddish black marble, walking her way towards a dais with three thrones made out of dark wood. Sitting in these thrones were vampires that made the back of my neck prickle and my skin feel ice cold.

Aro Volturi smiled serenely at me, his long spindly fingers tangled together in a mock of prayer. His face seemed almost alien like in real life. Translucent pale, I could see the faint threads of greenish-blue veins mapping his face as his quicksilver eyes glowed like a cat's in the dimness of the room. His inky black hair was pulled back from his face, in stark contrast with his skin. His thin papery lips moved minutely as he spoke, his skin hardly crinkling with the movement, "Isabella Marie Swan. A pleasure."

My mouth was so dry, I could hardly make the lame, 'Hello' pass my lips.

He laughed and untangled his fingers to gesture at something in the room, "I've heard a lot about you."

I glanced to where he had gestured and saw a very overwrought Cullen at the side of the wall, his fists curled tightly. Emmett's hand was clenched tightly on Cullen's forearm, as if restraining him.

I felt so utterly alone and helpless without him.

I gave him a taut smile before snapping my gaze back to the vampires who sat in dark thrones.

Aro's brothers sat back a little, but were no less intimidating. They looked just as alien as their brother, with the same pale skin and silver eyes: the one I recognised as Marcus had the same dark hair as Aro but Caius had a shock of milk white hair that almost made him look bald.

They made me want to run away and never look back.

I mentally slapped myself and gave a grin that would have fooled me. "You wanted to see me?"

He did not answer me, but got up and I stopped myself from taking a step back. He smiled wider and glided down from the dais, his ethereal eyes fixed on me.

_Don't. Run. _

He was close now, I could see the intricate slate black thread that embroidered the black robes he wore, and how they twisted up and down.

_Don't. _Fucking. _Run._

He was standing right in front of me now. I could smell freshly cut grass and sunlight, jarring in my mind.

I jolted out of my skin when he brushed his fingers across my cheek, tucking a curl behind my ear. A familiar roar was torn from my left and it shot right through me. I jerked backwards, nearly tripping over my heels.

No vampire other than Cullen had ever touched me before. Not even the other Cullens. His fingers were papery cool and made my skin crawl. There was something inherently wrong with his touch. The instinct to run away became so deep I had trouble fighting it.

"Don't," I rasped, my hand wiping harshly the place where he had touched me, as if to remove his touch from my skin.

He laughed, baring his teeth, "where's your fire, little phoenix?"

I swallowed drily and uttered, sounding surprisingly calm: "I don't know. I definitely packed it though."

He laughed again and my insides squirmed. Creepy fucking vampire. Made the guy in _The Human __Centipede _look like fucking Santa Claus. "I'm almost disappointed. Edward has finally broken you, hm?"

That made me snap. Fury flared in my gut and pushed very stupid words onto my tongue. "I'm not a fucking horse," I hissed. The only rational part of me was screaming for me to shut the fuck up.

Bit too late for that.

Aro's strange eyes darkened just a fraction before lightening again and he glanced at Edward again, "still working on improvements I see."

Oh, _fuck off._

Edward snarled and Emmett gripped him harder, both hands on his forearms. He said warningly, "steady, Edward, steady."

Suddenly, Aro's hand flashed out like a cobra and closed around my neck. My scream was cut off into a hoarse gurgle as he lifted me off the ground. My feet dangled and I scrabbled at his hands, my fingernails useless against his hard skin. My body revolted at his touch, my skin literally feeling like it was about to shed itself and the world span in dizzying circles.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

"Mind. Your. Betters," Aro said this part quietly, his silver eyes boring into mine. Edward suddenly crashed into my tunnelling view, snatching me from Aro's grasp with warm familiar hands. I sucked in a breath, my eyes streaming as Edward cradled me close to his body, arms wrapped tightly around me as he snarled over my head at Aro.

"Aro, leave the girl," Carlisle's voice swam into my brain, as I clutched to Edward's shirt, trying so very hard to stop crying.

_What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger. _

"Your son has a very self-destructive streak," Aro coolly observed.

"The mating is young, he is still...protective," Carlisle defended. "Such liberties you take with the girl are bound to have an effect on him."

"Are you ok?" I heard Edward's voice murmur, his hands stroking my hair. I could tell he was playing watchman, staring avidly as Aro moved away.

"...Yes," I lied. I turned my head to look back out and I saw Carlisle for the first time, standing near Aro, his face stonily serious.

Aro sighed petulantly and waved his hand dismissively at Carlisle. He turned his attention back to me and eyed me distastefully. "You can let go of her Mr Cullen. I'm sure she is alright."

Edward did not let go. In fact, he held me tighter, tucking me underneath his chin. "She doesn't deserve this," he growled, his chest vibrating under my cheek, "She's just a girl. She didn't know." He sighed deeply and repeated in a quavering voice, "she doesn't deserve this."

"Oh, really? Humiliating you and discrediting the already suffering vampire front with her little stunt of running away," Aro stalked forwards until he was close to us again, nostrils flaring, "Not only being foul mouthed, immature little brat who clearly prefers to shout at the world instead of understanding it. "

I clenched my fists and a swell of insults flashed behind my lips. Prick. The fuck did he know? But I bit them back and only concentrated on keeping my face smooth, like I was not seething with restrained anger.

Aro arched his eyebrows and said, "Tell me, little phoenix, how did you run in the first place? It is practically impossible."

I closed my eyes and thought miserably 'I really shouldn't have run.'

"I don't know," I said this as firmly as I could, even if my voice still shook. I opened my eyes and stared right back at me, "I just…freaked out... You don't know…what its like."

Aro scoffed but I continued anyway, "I just wanted to slip into the background, to get on with it. To get out of that shithole of a town and never look back. And suddenly, all of that is taken away when a man you have never met before look you in the eyes and tells you that you are the one. That's a lot to here alright? Especially on a Thursday afternoon. I…panicked alright? Isn't that enough?"

Aro examined me critically, and I felt like he was trying to probe into my mind. Something weird was going on with his eyes. The pupils were expanding, swallowing the silvery irises until it was one large pupil. But it didn't stop there; it began to seep into the whites of his eyes until they were totally black. My mind swam and felt like it was about drift away and be replaced by something…insidious.

I didn't know where I was, who I was with, what I was doing.

I was empty.

.

.

.

But then something sparked.

The emptiness roared and cracked. My mind snapped back together again and I recoiled. I gasped, shook my head violently, pressing my palms against my temples.

I had just been Enthralled.

Or at least…Aro had tried to Enthral me.

"Get out of my head!" I shouted, pushing myself further into Edward's chest. "_Getout_!"

Aro's face was surprised, an emotion that didn't suit him. "She's immune," he said lightly glancing up to look at Edward and then Carlisle, "My, my, the last time I had failed to Enthral a human was 900 years ago. That explains…a lot."

I scowled at him as he drew away again and slithered to his brothers. He began talking in them in a rapid foreign language. Not Italian. No, something older. Latin maybe?

"You're doing so well," Edward's voice drifted across my ears, a hint of pride in his voice. He squeezed my waist, kissed my temple and I sank a little into him.

"I am shit scared," I whispered, swallowing audibly, "What does he want with me?"

He was about to reply before Aro broke away again, looking me over once more, "There is more to you than meets the eye, little phoenix."

I bared my teeth at him in the guise of a grin and said drily, "Glad I entertain."

His smile faded and Edward pulled me close, "You still need to learn manners but I'm sure Edward will see to that."

_Edward's not my fucking trainer, asshole_.

Aro pressed the tips of his fingers together as he began to circle us, "There is clearly an anomaly in your brain. This anomaly that makes you immune to vampire influences – mating and enthralment alike – has made you rather popular in some of the more intelligent circles."

I frowned at him and he began to elaborate, "Feminists, anti-vampire movements and the Hunters's Union are calling you the 'Girl who Ran'. An entire culture is developing as we speak - Internet forums are buzzing about you, there's merchandise being created as we speak with your new nickname."

The news of my apparent 'fame' took me by surprise. The idea of people supporting me and not ridiculing me was a new concept. It was Cullen who asked, "Why is this important?"

"This is not good for the Vampire Unveiling. We are trying to get human's used to the idea of us. That is hardly going to work if we have a foulmouthed girl running around showing clearly just how much she _doesn't_ enjoy being in our company." Aro came back into our vision again, his hands now spread outwards, "You can rectify this."

"How?" I croaked, as the more he talked the more my stomach twisted into a tiny knot.

"Convince them that you are now very much in love with Edward," Aro said simply, standing still in front of us, "The _Mascarade des Etoiles_ next week is perfect for this. It is the first time we are allowing human photographers into the event. You will act like you love this man more than anything. _Anything._"

I started, panicking at the sudden request for PDA. Jesus-fucking-Christ. "I'm not…I'm not an exhibitionist. Neither of us are." Cullen's breath rushed out against my cheek and his hands tightened against my waist.

"You have to be one or I'll make sure that the vampire who killed your grandmother remains free and unpunished."

The blood drained from my face and the world seemed to freeze for a second before it began to spin twice as fast. Images of splattered blood across linoleum floor and antique pearls rusted over, sputtered across my vision.

How did he know?

My body felt cold, right to my bones. All I could do was numbly nod in agreement.

Aro Volturi smiled in triumph and then waved me out, "You may leave."

I don't think I would have moved if Cullen hadn't guided me out.

I walked languorously by his side, hardly noticing the halls that passed us. I was vaguely aware of Edward trying to talk to me. My mind was still trying to process what had just happened.

They know.

They know.

Edward suddenly sat me down on a stone bench in a small alcove, "Bella, tell me everything. Now."

My gaze locked onto his eyes and he cupped my face, staring hard at me, "What happened?"

I swallowed thickly, pushing my hair back and trying to order my thoughts, "About Granma Swan?"

He nodded patiently and I had to take a deep breath. I couldn't put it off anymore; he needed to know. "It was only a few days after the Unveiling when I discovered my grandmother on her kitchen floor. I always used to go to her house first before I went home. I'd like to watch her cook and she'd teach me how." I smiled at the memory of walking in to my grandmother cooking, the smell of rosemary and thyme in the small stuffy kitchen, steam billowing in columns. "I knew something was wrong the moment I walked across the door. I couldn't hear her. The house was cold from the lack of cooking. There was a thick smell in the air; not cooking but rust. Iron. I called out to her and she didn't reply. I left my bag by the door and walked to the sitting room expecting her to be there: maybe she'd fallen asleep reading one of her trashy novels."

I took a shuddering breath, something warm and wet rolled down my cheeks, "She wasn't there. I moved through to the kitchen. And I saw…a dark blonde vampire, lapping out the blood *from my grandmother's stomach. Or at least…what was left of it. At first he'd fed from the femoral artery in her thigh, and when that slowed in flowing, he'd split her chest open to feed directly from her aorta." The tears were flowing thick and fast now and my voice was barely a hush of noise, "I think I screamed. It's all so blurry after that point but I remember him looking up and snarling, blood raining from his chin. He bolted, leaving my grandmother to drown in a pool of her own blood." I closed my eyes, "her eyes were still open when I sat beside her. She…she just stared. She looked so surprised, her right hand was still holding the wooden spoon she had been using to mix the then burning Bolognese*."

Edward's lips were suddenly pressing all over my face, blotting away the tears and cradling me close to him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fingers tangling in my hair, "I understand now. I'm sorry."

I gripped at his shirt, allowing him to brush away the salty tears, his lips brushing against my eyelids and cheeks. "Look at me."

I opened my eyes to stare into his wide myrtle green eyes, ferocious in their determination and fury; "I will do everything in my power, to make that man _suffer_. I will make sure he suffers ten times what your grandmother suffered."

I clasped my hands over his on the side of my face, "He's not worth a piece of your soul."

"If that piece of soul is in exchange for your peace, then so be it," he vowed, his hand trailing down my neck, resting on my collarbone, over my heart. A vow.

I clenched my teeth and bit my lip. I didn't know what to say.

Fucking shit. Serious boy is serious.

Cullen. Vampadonis. My Cullen. My Edward.

Jesus shit. My heart feels ten times larger than my chest. Its elating and painful at the same time.

God I hate ambiguity.

My face felt blotchy and swollen and I felt exhausted. My head fell onto his shoulder and he stroked my hair. "Could you just hold me for a few minutes? I feel like I'm about to implode."

"I'll always have time," he replied, holding me close for a few quiet moments.

**There we go! Sorry if the stars annoyed anyone. I'm not taking any chances. An uncensored version will be put on TWCS at some point...when I can muster the motivation...blurp, I'm lazy. **

**Aro is a creepy mofo. It was disturbing writing him I can tell ya. **

**Bones**

**Random Fact ****# 13: My mother is the most down to earth person I know. Literally, I go to her for nearly all my problems cause she's amazing that way. But she's part Irish. This means she has massive superstitions. Like whistling in doors, walking under ladders and spilling salt. She goes crazy, as if you've burnt the house down, if you put new shoes on the table, I kid you not.**


	16. Dancing

**I don't own Twilight.**

**Warning: Suggestive content**

_Dancing_

After a while, Edward managed to get me up and walk me back to the rooms. Esme, Rose and Alice were in the living area, waiting tensely for me to get back.

As soon as we got in, they all jumped up, "How did it go?" Alice asked, her wide grey eyes filled with anxiety.

I screwed up my face, which still felt a little swollen from all the crying, "not so hot."

"Poor thing!" Esme cried, enveloping me in a tight hug that almost cracked my ribs.

"What did they do?" Rose asked, as Esme released me and settled me down onto one of the couches while Edward went off to get me a glass of water.

"He nearly choked me," I said simply, rubbing my throat, which still felt a bit tender from Aro's grip.

"Fucking hell! Can I kick his ass?" Rose's eyes flashed, Esme winced and a smirk flashed across my face.

"No, that's fine," I said quietly, as Edward handed the glass of water to me, "They're expecting me back," he explained, looking like he would rather be dragged back than go by himself.

"I'll be fine," I assured him, stroking his cheek, "go."

That was when Gael and Kam entered, their eyes flickering between us, "What's going on?" Gael asked.

Edward gave an apologetic smile and kissed me one more time, before he left the room.

"What happened?" Alice asked, sitting next to me as I sipped at the water.

I then told them everything that happened, clutching my glass close to my chest.

They all listened quietly, absorbing everything that I said. Once finished, they all sat in silence before Gael said, her face stonily serious, "I remember your case. I wasn't assigned to it but…his name's James Talbot and… that wasn't the first time he… well, you know. It is like the earth has just swallowed him."

"Well, the Volturi brothers appear to be hiding him," I said between shaky breaths, trying to calm down again, "and all in exchange for a fucking propaganda agenda."

"It could be worse," Gael said practically, glancing at Kam, "Aro is one cruel buggering sod when he wants to be. All you need to do is what you are already doing, just in public. So you'll just have to be public horny bastards."

I sniggered, starting to feel a little better, "Yeah…you're right, it could have been ten times worse. Fucking creepy hall. Pictures of gory vampire battle scenes and shit."

"If they give you anymore shit, we'll be right behind you," Alice swore, a tiny girl dressed in Chanel looking fucking scary.

That made me laugh hard and eventually, I began to feel a lot better. We opened the French windows and saw there was a massive pool with sun loungers in our own enclosed courtyard. We all squealed and, sans Gael and Kam, ran to get our bikini's on. Applying the sun lotion onto each other's backs and then finally sinking onto the sun lounges, soaking up the sun around the pool. I began to read _The Help_ while the others chatted over glossy Vogue magazines and sweating glasses of cocktails. We stayed that way until the sun began to sink low over walls. We went back in, showered and dressed for dinner. I chose a blue knee length summer dress and then went to the sitting room to wait out for dinner

When the sun finally fully sank, leaving the sky purple and orange, the others came back. Edward made a beeline for me, practically x-raying me, "Are you feeling better?"

I nodded, grinning at the others, "much better."

Gael and Kam were taken off by Carlisle, talking lowly and seriously for a few moments, glancing at me every once in a while.

Choosing to ignore this I heard Emmett boom: "I'm thirsty, dinner anyone?"

"I'm starving," Alice agreed, her fingers interwoven with Jasper's, "Where do we go?"

"C'mon, its this way," Edward tangled his fingers with mine and drew me away, the others following us.

We made our way to a huge glittering dining hall, lit with warm lights and high set windows, and more portraits, with beautifully set circular tables and high candelabra. Lots of other vampires and their consorts were already seated, waiting for dinner service to start. We settled ourselves down in one of the few remaining chairs, ignoring the stares that followed us.

We sat down, and I picked up the set menu that was set neatly on top of my tablemat and perused the watermarked paper, gilded with delicate lines. "Wow...grilled scallops, foie gras, roasted pineapple with rum...no expenses huh?"

Edward peered over my shoulder, quickly reading though. "Indeed...'Princess of Monaco's sanguis lightly carbonated'. Definitely no expenses wasted."

"How was it by the way? After you went back," I asked him turning to look into his grassy green eyes.

He smiled tightly, suddenly looking a lot older, "more politics I'm afraid, more berating for not being strong enough with you. You weren't missing out on much."

His words made me think about how Aro constantly referred to me as someone who needed 'breaking'. Were consorts meant to be 'trained'? To have their independence stripped of them? Maybe my earlier defiance at everything hadn't been misplaced.

Ugh.

I fucking hate misogynistic pigs.

I was about to ask Edward about it when a group of vampires and their consorts glided towards our table. I recognised Agatha amongst them, tucked into the side of a tall black haired vampire with orange eyes. A couple led the group, comprised of a stocky, dirty blonde haired vampire with sapphire blue eyes and a tall woman with broad shoulders and had equally dark, silky hair that flowed down her back and on her bare arms there were intricate blue tattoos that snaked up and down her white flesh. Behind them, along with Agatha and her vampire, was a hulking dark brown haired vampire with green eyes, his arm protectively wrapped around the expanded stomach of a pretty curly redhead, who had freckles scattered across her nose and her hands placed over the vampire's. Finally, there was a third vampire; he had a shock of white blonde hair that stuck up in jagged directions and he slouched at the back, looking utterly bored.

The lead vampire spoke as they reached our table his eyes focused on Carlisle, a wide smile spreading across his mobile mouth, "Carlisle! Long time, no see friend."

I think for the first time ever, I saw Carlisle smile genuinely, "Liam! Siobhan! So good to see you."

The pair shook hands and Carlisle kissed Siobhan's cheeks. Alistair said smoothly, "Looks like you have additions. So do we." Alistair glanced over his shoulder and beckoned Agatha and her vampire forward, "Agatha? Meet my very close friend Carlisle."

Agatha flushed and her vampire only smiled and whispered something into her ear.

Carlisle smiled warmly and bent his head in the way of a greeting, "Jack's new consort. A pleasure."

Agatha nodded and stuttered out, "Nuh-nice to meet y-you too."

Carlisle turned to the rest of us and said, "We have additions as well. Alice was the first a few months back, then Rose and finally Bella." He gestured to each of us and we all nodded when our names were called, "Girls, this is my good friend Alistair, his consort Siobhan. You've met Agatha, who is a consort to Jack. Then there is Liam and Maggie and finally Aaron." Everyone but Aaron smiled and murmured their greetings. Alistair's eyes lingered on me for a moment before snapping back to Carlisle, "well, looks like we have things to catch up on. Mind if we join you?"

"Of course, of course! Sit down," the newcomers settled themselves down. Maggie had to be helped into her seat, as she was so pregnant I was surprised she didn't pop. Agatha and Jack sat on the opposite side of us. Agatha smiled shyly at me and asked, "How was the meeting?"

I screwed up my face, "I've had better ones."

Agatha's face creased in worry and Jack said smoothly, "they're not known for their fluffy and gentle demeanour for things. You're lucky they didn't do worse."

Agatha gave him a shocked look, "still, horrible to go through." She smiled shyly at me, shoving her glasses up her nose again, "I think you were very brave."

Agatha is too effing cute.

Jack grinned, as if reading my thoughts and kissed Agatha's cheek. "You are too sweet," He murmured against her skin, his hand brushing her frizzy hair.

Agatha's blush returned with a vengeance and she giggled, leaning into him. "So," Jack said, his eyes flickering between us, "getting all the attention must be getting old." He focused on me, "Bet you wished you had never ran."

I arched my eyebrow at him in an 'are you kidding me?' "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

His eyes flashed in amusement, "sarky girl you got there, Cullen."

"I'm right here," I said irritably and Edward chuckled.

Agatha pinched Jack's bicep, frowning slightly, "don't be rude."

"I happen to like this sarky girl," Edward replied, fingers dancing along my spine.

I smiled triumphantly and restrained the urge to stick my tongue out. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head before smoothly changing the subject. "So what do you make of the Volturi's concerns in recent sightings of Romanian vampires in the Northern borders of the Western territory? Aro was quite…adamant that father fortified his defences in the North Sea to make sure they don't encroach on the Isle and have a passage on to the Mainland."

Edward sighed, just as our starters of grilled scallops in lime sauce and Amazonian tribesman sanguis was set in front of us, "He was demanding that Father take the offensive on the Eastern border and push in further with the aid of the Xi Coven. He believes it will draw the attention away from his own territory"

"Ah…of course, never mind our own," Jack Bell rolled his eyes and picked up his glass, swilling it gently, "I don't really understand why we have these talks. He talks about the Roman days – where everyone had their fair say and when things 'were truly democratic'." Jack imitated Aro's slippery voice perfectly, making an icy finger run along my spine, "But then he makes these demands when he knows he can't make them – we're stretched out thin already. Its like they all have the rose-tinted glasses of the past over their eyes."

Edward agreed: "They wish to conquer all and in that parameter are overstretching themselves, overstretching us." He lightly rubbed his temple, a sign that showed he had a headache coming on, "The pressure we put on the Petrov Coven is going to make them retaliate in a way we won't expect. Who knows; they might do the unthinkable and take one of our consorts, have them under ransom. Make us vulnerable, impulsive." His arm instinctively snaked around my waist and tightened protectively.

Jack mirrored him, gently stroking Agatha's hair. Agatha and I exchanged a worried looks before I quickly said, "Well, whatever the hell it is they're going to do; its not something I want to talk about over my lovely foie gras."

The tension drained away and the two vampires relaxed, if only slightly. Agatha wrinkled her nose, "foie gras? Ew, no thanks. Do you know what they do to those poor geese?"

I went along with this subject, since it seemed marginally better than the one before.

Vampire Wars versus force-fed geese.

It's all fun and games at vampire dinner!

The rest of the evening was spent in a better tone than what it started in. The talk kept going and the food got more extravagant with every portion. Though…I left out the foie gras. Agatha had taken it upon herself to explain in detail what they do to geese to get their livers good for eating.

Seeing the little slab of yellow meat made me want to vomit.

Thanks Agatha.

Jack shook his head a slight twist to his features. "Human food…is so…strange."

"No," I said, making a face and pushing the stuff to the edge of my plate, "just very gross sometimes."

He laughed and eyed our plates, "it certainly looks disgusting. I can't imagine…"

He shuddered and I looked to Edward to see a disgusted look on his face. "Indeed," he muttered.

I snorted, "Not all of it is gross, Vampadonis. There's a lot to be said about food."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Edward had a challenging glitter in his eyes and I was more than willing to retaliate. "Strawberries. Chocolate."

"Ice cream," Agatha put in enthusiastically, "Ben and Jerry's Phish Food."

I grinned, nodding at her, "ravioli, pastry, mangoes, salmon…"

"Haggis," Agatha beamed widely and we all stared back at her as if she was nuts.

She started, a flush creeping up her neck, "Well…it may look terrible…but it's actually really amazing with ketchup."

More silent staring. I now believe that Agatha has been born with a good dose of insane.

She huffed, pushed her glasses up her nose, crossed her arms and sank a little in her seat, blushing furiously, "…I'm Scottish. That makes my tastes a little…stranger than normal. Its like how the French eat frogs legs and the Peruvians eat guinea pigs. The French chose to eat frogs legs in the 12th century, when monks were trying to skirt the bans on eating meat (because they were thought to be getting too fat) by qualifying frogs as a fish. The Peruvians eat guinea pigs because they were easy to catch and they were easy to keep. Scots came up with haggis so that they could easily cook quickly spoiling offal at the hunting sites-"

Agatha had a tendency, when she's flustered, to give an entire historical context on the subject she'd been caught up on. Jack always remedied this by kissing her thoroughly. I sniggered when Jack pulled away and Agatha looked even more flustered then she had before. "I am thoroughly mortified," she muttered, burying her head into the sleeve of Jack's shirt.

He laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Your blush is too delectable to pass, my darling."

She muttered something I couldn't hear and Jack burst out laughing. "Not a chance, Aggie, not a chance."

He suddenly pulled them both to their feet, twirling Agatha in the guise of a dance. He tossed us a mischievous look: "Excuse us. I'm off to ravish my beautiful consort."

"_Jack_!"

"Don't mind us," Edward chuckled, "I might do the same with mine."

I could feel my own blush rise as Jack and Agatha disappeared. Edward skimmed his nose along my skin of my neck, inhaling deeply, "I can smell the sunlight on your skin."

His words shot right to my core and I shivered, "You want to go?"

His eyes glittered and he had me out of my seat within seconds. Taking my hand he pulled me out of the dining room without much words to the people around us. Once out of the dining hall, Edward suddenly scooped me up and ran me to our rooms.

I gasped and clutched onto him, the world whirling around me. Before I knew it, we were in our room. Edward had placed me on the bed and was locking the door. I propped my elbows, my cheeks flushed and my breath coming out in pants.

My body felt charged, the light bulb feeling returning with a vengeance. He stared at me hungrily, something white flashing over his bottom lip, his eyes a bright emerald that pierced me right through. He stalked forwards but then stopped, something like worry flashing in his eyes, "Are you…ready?" The question was rough, his fists were clenched. He was controlling himself. Always restraining himself.

I paused, before pushing my hair back, trying to cool the shots of thoughts that made my brain whirl. "Uuh…" I said shakily. He quivered his eyes never leaving me.

Fucking say something. The man looks like he's about to break out into a frenzy.

…No.

Not like this.

Not when we had the Volturi's hanging over our heads. Not when it felt forced. I wanted it to be on our own terms.

…But that light bulb feeling wasn't going to go away its own.

I took a long breath, lick my lips and say, "I'm not ready for…it."

He seemed to deflate, he actually took a step back before I quickly said, "but that doesn't mean we can't do…other stuff."

His eyes sparked again and growled, "There's a lot I could do."

Oh. God.

I think I just released the monster.

***B*F***

I flopped back onto the bed, sighing, body flushed with the exertion.

It felt so fucking good.

Edward crawled up, kissing my naked skin as we went, "my beautiful girl. Mine."

There was something desperate in his tone and looked at him quizzically, even as my body felt so full and tired. He stroked every inch of my body again, murmuring something unintelligible as he did so. His fingers were tender but firm, pressing against my skin in precise movements. "Edward? What is it?"

"Do you know, how hard it was?" He blurted out, suddenly cupping my face, stroking back my hair, staring into my eyes, "To see you all alone, in front of them. Helpless. Vulnerable. Him touching you." He snarled on the last sentence, making me jump.

His eyes were dark, and a deep growl vibrated his chest. I smoothed my hands across the planes of his chest and through his hair. "Shh, its ok. I'm here, its ok. Look! No scars, no damage. I'm here, with you and you're all I want. All I need."

His eyes flickered with a slight vulnerability. "You mean that?"

I smiled, placing my palms on each of his temples, "Of course I do. You know me: I tell it how it is."

He laughed, curling a tress around his finger, "Of course you do."

There was still a trace of worry in his gaze and I was beginning to have a very bloody battle with fatigue.

I should combine the two.

"Listen…I am kinda tired from the very…energetic activity we have just done. Could you hold me, while I go to sleep?" I asked him, smiling at him sleepily.

He stroked my cheek tenderly before nodding, "Of course."

We crawled underneath the covers and I laid my ear against his thudding heart, going at a steady rhythm of tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump. One of his hands placed itself on the base of my spine and the other took my hand and held it across his stomach. "Go to sleep," he murmured.

"Mmph," I grunted out, already half asleep, listening to the gentle rhythm going beneath my ear.

***B*F***

The rest of the week passed without much fuss. Edward and the others would usually be gone most of the day or night, depending on what the Volturi brothers demanded. The rest of us hang out together – mostly sunbathing and gossiping. We only really saw the other consorts at dinner; they mostly kept to themselves and we were fine with this.

Most of them looked bitchy anyway.

The Denalis arrived the day after we did and it was amazing to have Kate back with us again. The other Denalis were just as nice as the Bells so we had a wide range of consorts to chat with.

The Mascarade Des Etoiles was coming fast and it was all anyone was talking about. Alice had all of our outfits ready for it a week in advance. She even went through a rehearsal of putting on our make up, to make sure it was absolutely perfect.

"Is there actual dancing there, Vampadonis?" I asked Edward one night, sitting up in bed as I watch him smoothly get ready for bed, "Like…waltzing and shit."

"Yes, 'waltzing and shit,'" he confirmed, turning to gaze at me.

My face drained of blood, "I don't know how to do that. I'm going to cock this up aren't I? I'm going to make this into a whole bigger pile of steaming shit than it already is and I-"

He dashed over and pressed a long finger against my lips, eyes glittering with something like amusement, "No, you're not. Its all in the lead, darling."

He scooped me up, set me on the floor and placed my hands in the correct place for dancing: one hand on his shoulder, the other in his hand. He clasped one hand on my waist and gave me a devilish grin, "ready?"

"No," I squeaked.

"1, 2, 3 and!" he suddenly set off, spinning us in circles around the bed, with me laughing giddily.

The night of the actual ball was a frenzy of activity.

Alice was positively scary.

I mean it.

There could be an entire horror film based on Alice's actions on that night.

"Bella, remember, be careful putting it on, because if you tear the fabric, I will kill you. With a fork. You understand?"

See? Scary, scary, scary shit.

"Yes," I yelped, taking the emerald green evening gown from her arms and scurrying away from her before she bit my head off. I was wrapped up in a towel, fresh from a shower and I nearly slipped as I made it into our room.

Edward was in our room, buttoning up his shirt, his bottom half dressed in black pristine dress trousers. "Alice threatening your life?" he asked, as I carefully left the dress on the bed and began to blow dry my hair like Alice showed me.

"When has she not?" I bantered back, "She should become part of the mafia. She'd be great at getting shit out of people."

Edward snickered and I finished blow-drying my hair. From the dresser I pulled out the strapless lacy black bra and the matching panties. I pulled the panties on under my towel and then quickly clipped the bra into place. Dropping the towel I sauntered over to the evening gown. I looked up…only to see Edward staring hungrily at me. I grinned and shook my hips before bending to take the dress off its hanger. I unzipped and stepped into it, pulling it swiftly over my form and then stepped into a pair of peep toe black heels. It had thin straps, a low scooping back, and a v-neck line that didn't plunge and fell in a sheet of shimmery satin to my toes. It made me feel I was back in the 1920s.

The back was gaping open and I glanced up, "Vampadonis, zip me up?"

His eyes smouldered and he was around and behind me within seconds. He then slowly zipped up the back kissing the top of my spine as the zip reached the top. "You look beautiful," he murmured, hands clasped over my hips, "You are beautiful."

I smiled, turning in his grasp to wrap my arms around his neck, "careful, my vampire is very possessive of me. He won't like you talking like that."

"Sounds terrifying," he teased, pulling me closer.

"You wouldn't imagine," I replied, taking his smiling lips.

He kissed me back with a passion that left me dizzy and I pulled away giddy. "Stop, Alice will kill me if I don't get my make up on."

He growled but released me and I swept towards the vanity, sitting myself down to get ready again. While he was busy tying his shoelaces, I surreptitiously strapped a velcro holster to my right thigh, slotting the dagger it. Gael had leant it to me, with a finger over her lips while whispering, "for the ball. And the dagger."

Edward still didn't know. And he will not know. He'd freak his shit otherwise and then confiscate it, claiming he would protect me, the hunters could protect me, the other mates could protect me.

But I really couldn't give two shits about the 'damsel in distress' crap.

Eyeing my tools for battle, I picked up the foundation, and began to smooth it across my cheeks.

Just when I was putting on a rope of diamonds that had been forced into my hands at the jewellery store, I noticed Edward in the mirror was watching me from the wardrobe, leaning against the wood. His bowtie was undone and his hair smoothed back in a neat parting, dinner jacket over his arm. His jade eyes glued to me, I gave him a quizzical grin, "How long have you been standing there?"

He shrugged smoothly, his eyes never leaving me, "Does it matter?"

I sniggered, "Suppose it doesn't."

I got up, and walked over to him and smoothed my hands upwards to try and tie the bowtie in what I deemed to be an utterly romantic gesture.

Too bad I've never tied one before in my life.

After several minutes of quiet swearing, I tied the fabric into a shoelace knot.

I took a step back and admired his form, "Congratulations, you look like a gay James Bond."

He snorted and smoothly undid the tie, "Here, this is how you do it…"

He showed me how to do this bowtie and then kissed me once last time, "Ready to go into the fray?"

"As I'll ever be. So long as you're with me," I bargained, snaking my arm around his elbow.

"Always," he said as we made it out to the living room. The others were waiting for us, looking like extras for Casino Royale.

"Perfect!" Alice practically screamed, whirling up to me in a slinky dress of silver, "You haven't screwed up at all!"

"Glad you have faith in me and my dressing skills," I said drily.

"Oh shut up, you look perfect, so that doesn't matter anyway," Alice, patted me on the arm and glided back to Jasper, dressed in a tux similar to Edward's.

I gazed around the room and saw Esme dressed in a simple purple evening gown with a square neckline and Rose in a red dress that flared out from her hips. The men were all in tuxedoes, looking sharply handsome. Gael and Kam were there too, Gael in a sheer black evening gown with a slit up the side and her hair scooped up into a loose updo, and Kam in an all black suit. "You all look great," I blurted out, face flushing.

"Aw, thanks Belly-Boo," Emmett teased, arm wrapped around Rose's waist.

I rolled my eyes at him and Carlisle stated calmly, "Shall we set off?"

Kam nodded and Gael piped up, "Kam and I will blend in with the crowd but we'll be watching for any suspicious activity. You only need to shout if you need help. You understand?"

We all nodded and ushered ourselves out into the hall. Carlisle led the group and we trailed behind, walking in our pairs. Edward kept a firm grip of me, so I didn't wobble too much in the heels that were surely going to kill me by the end of the night.

"So…how are we gonna show our undying love towards each other?" I asked him, as we walked, butterflies battering my guts to a pulp, "I'm not really a public person."

Ugh.

He thought for a moment, that little crease appearing between his brows before he replied, "Pretend it's just us in the room and no one else. No one else matters."

He stared intently at me, as if it was only me he could really see. My breath caught and I smiled, kissing his cheek. "Of course, that makes sense."

Grinning crookedly, he pulled me closer as we joined a queue glitteringly dressed people waiting to be admitted into a hall where I could hear light dance music. We were all waiting for their names to be called out by a man in red livery, with a huge staff in his hand. With every name he was about to introduce he would bang it twice on the marble floor and then said the names in a ringing clear voice out to the hall.

The queue moved quickly as they called out name after name. Edward bent down and whispered into my ear, "When the man calls out our names, we take a step into the hall. There are going to be some stairs, going straight down onto the dance floor. They'll all be looking at us but ignore them. Focus on me holding onto your hand. Alright?"

I nodded and clutched his hand harder as we finally made it to the head of the queue. The vampire in livery took one look at us and then thumped his staff against the marble floor twice, "Edward Anthony Cullen and his consort, Isabella Marie Swan!"

I didn't care about how he knew our names. All I cared about was the fact that hundreds of faces were turned in our direction. Camera flashes blinded me for a moment and my grip turned vice like around Edward's hands. "Don't let me fall," I whispered to him, as my eyes swept the massive hall. It was oval shaped, with an orchestra playing away at the opposite side of where we were now. Around the stairs were clusters of tables and chairs, leaving a massive space for the dancers in the middle of the hall. The ceiling was decorated with pictures of angels and cherubs not unlike the ones in the Sistine Chapel. French windows were set in the walls opened to let the cool night air in to this hall, past gauzy curtains of white. Vampires and consorts of every ethnicity swirled and stood in the space, some of them staring avidly at me, some of them paying us no attention. Human photographers stood at the edge of the steps, snapping photos of us as we stepped onto the dance floor.

Edward managed to pry away my grip so he could transfer it to my waist, pulling me close again. His lips brushed the shell of my ear, "You are wonderful. Well done."

I smiled and we walked to the side, where the others were already around one of the tables.

"Well, that wasn't stressful," Rose, said, fanning herself with her hand, "I was so sure I was about to fall flat on my face in front of everyone."

"Me too," I said, "I think I nearly cut off circulation to Edward's fingers."

He laughed, "Nearly, but not quite." He grabbed my hand and spun me on the spot, just as a new piece of dance music was started up, "How about a dance?"

"If I step on your toes, it is entirely your fault, Vampadonis" I warned him, as he towed me out to the dance floor.

He snorted, "You need to give yourself more credit. You're not half as clumsy as you think you are."

"Did I tell you about the time I tripped into the Bride at her wedding? I was a bridesmaid and my foot caught on a step and I went head first into her gown. She then fell and banged her head on the altar. She was rushed to hospital and needed 10 stitches. No one asked me to be their bridesmaid ever again."

He snorted, as we took up the dancing position and he began to take us in the same circles he'd shown me earlier in the week. "Well, you always seem elegant to me," he countered as we began to move in smooth circles around the expanse of floor.

I found that he was right. If I kept my head clear and just focused on the way his hands held me I could more or less keep clear of his shiny black Oxfords. I looked into his green eyes and he grinned my favourite crooked smile, "You see?"

"Don't say 'I told you so'," I warned, "Or I am going to step on your toes."

He grinned, span me around and pulled me close, "You wouldn't dare."

"You keep telling yourself that," I sniggered.

His smile turned more…I don't know…contemplative? It was hard to read. "I'm so proud of you," he said quietly.

I cocked an eyebrow, "Why?"

He was silent for a moment, the music wafting about us, "Because…you're a small town girl, who's only ever known Forks. You were…so against all of this at the beginning." Something jagged cracked across his gaze, "I almost…I almost thought you'd never…"

He trailed off and cleared his throat, our steps starting to slow, "anyway…now look at you!" His grin came back again and he twisted me around again, "my beautiful girl."

I laughed and was about to reply when the orchestra suddenly stopped. We all looked up and saw Aro Volturi with a beautiful woman with deep red hair, whom I could only assume was his consort: Sulpicia. Aro smiled widely, bearing his teeth to the thronging crowd, "Welcome all, to the 2133rd Mascarade des Etoiles." Everyone started applauding and I quickly followed. Aro smiled and then signalled for the applauding to stop with a wave of his hand.

Abruptly everyone stopped, and all that was left was a tinkling silence.

So I wasn't the only one who found him freaky.

Ayeesh.

"This is the first Mascarade where we have allowed humans into the throng. We hope this will help smooth the divide between man and vampire."

More polite clapping before… "Now, may I ask that you all enjoy yourselves and-" now he stared directly at me, a cruel grin forming on his lips, "-have a ball."

More polite clapping before the orchestra struck up again. Edward growled and turned me away, starting from where we had left off. "Ignore him," I said, cupping his neck with one hand, "This isn't about him. It's about us. Now, show me how well you can avoid having you're toes trodden, Vampadonis."

His muscles relaxed beneath my hands and he asked, "how about a foxtrot?"

Aaah…

Shit.

Edward then proceeded to whirl me around the dance floor with me holding on for dear life. It was fun but fuck, it didn't half burn my insides. I begged him to put me down and he did so, laughing quietly as he gently leading me back towards our table. "Oh Sweet Jesus," I gasped, clutching the stitch at my side, "that isn't a work out and a half."

"I feel your pain," Alice groaned, slumped in a chair next to me, "Jasper decided to show me just how fast a waltz can be."

Edward and Jasper chuckled before Edward knelt down so he was eye level with me, "would you girls like a drink?"

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath, my head still spinning from the circles. He kissed my lips quickly before beginning to thread his way through the crowd Jasper following him. I pushed my hair off my heated face and looked around the hall again. Couples were still dancing and a lot of the human photographers were focusing their lenses on the activity there. But a few were focusing on me. They stared avidly at me as I sat with Alice and a few were edging close to where we were sitting. My face flushed and I turned to Alice, making my hair a curtain over my face, "Do you see the buzzards?" I asked her, my eyes flickering over to one reporter who looked particularly resolute.

Alice glanced at them and then back at me, a worried crease in her forehead, "keep your cool. They were told to keep their distance from any of the guests, especially the women, for their own safety."

It this reporter did look determined to talk to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him straighten his jacket, smooth his hair and pull out a notebook, before putting on a winning smile and making his way towards us.

'Go-away-go-away-go-away' I thought manically, starting to jiggle my foot. I glanced around for Edward wondering where the hell he was.

The reporter got close enough to begin to introduce himself, "Hi! I'm Duke Mackirdy of The World News. I'm just wondering if I could-"

He didn't get very far after that. Gael materialised from thin air and placed herself between the reporter and me. "Move along sir. Nothin' t'see here."

Duke scowled at the newcomer and said, "oh yeah? And who might you be?"

Gael's face remained stony as she said, "Bodyguard for the Cullens. I said: move along, sir." She smiled sweetly but there was a hardness in her gaze.

Duke gulped but he kept on going like the idiot he was, "little thing like you?"

Gael's grin slid off her face faster than water on glass. "Move. Along. Sir," she took a step forward on each word, until she was right in the man's face, a slight snarl curling her lip.

The man cowered and stumbled away into the murmuring crowd, all of who were staring at Gael with a mixture of fear and disgust. Gael span on the spot to face us, grinning like nothing had happened, "Alright ladies?"

I stared at her incredulously, just as Edward and Jasper came back with a drink for the two of us, "what the hell was that?"

Gael giggled and snatched up her glass of wine from a table. "Hunter Gael," she said, tapping her nose knowingly and taking a swig, "I love terrifying journalists."

I sniggered as Edward handed me my glass of golden coloured wine, "what happened?" he asked, eyes flickering between us all.

"Don't worry Eddie-boy, tis all under control," Gael said confidently, "just trying to bat away the circling buzzards."

"We saw Gael's scary side," Alice confirmed as Jasper sat next to her, "I know now why we hired her."

"Despicable."

We all turned to see a dark skinned vampire stare at Gael with disgust. He was leaning against a pillar and his face was twisted with outright distaste, "how the mighty have fallen."

Gael's eyes sparking in challenge again, "Laurent Giraud, I believe you're wanted for the murder of an entire classroom of boys in South of France."

The vampire sneered and circled around to where Gael stood, "they did taste rather good. But how does it feel, to serve the Cullens as their pet guard dog. Must leave a bitter taste, hmm?"

Gael snorted, "Baiting for a fight Laurent? Very mature of you."

"I don't understand why Aro let you in. I thought dogs weren't allowed into the Mascarade," the vampire continued circling Gael.

"Careful now. Don't want to ruin that lovely shirt of yours," Gael's tone was threatening now, "It would be a pity if I had to stake you to the floor."

The vampire smiled slowly, like tar on a road. "You can't do anything unless I attack the human girl," his black eyes flickered to me and then back again, "and we both know that I'm not that idiotic."

He swayed close to her and whispered seductively, "How many ways can I make you scream?"

Gael shuddered, a throng of vampires and consorts starting to surround them in a ring, smiling maliciously as the vampire Laurent continued to goad the Hunter. "Eat shite, leech," she hissed through her teeth, her fingers clenched at her side. Her eyes were all hard again, glittering with a bloody violence that made me want to run from her.

I tugged on Edward's sleeve, asking him "can't you do something?"

He shook his head jaw clenched as he watched the vampire and the hunter continued to circle each other.

Laurent was so close to her now, they were practically nose to nose, "Well? Aren't you going to do something?"

Kam suddenly melted out of the crowd, grabbing Gael's arm. She jumped and turned to look at him. The stared silently at each other before Gael visibly relaxed. She even grinned properly, her eyes sparkling again. She turned to Laurent again and smiled poisonously sweet at him, "run along vampire. I'd watch your back after this is over."

Laurent continued to smile, his fangs retracting inch by inch, "and I'd watch yours."

And just like that, the tension dribbled away. The people around us seemed to deflate and some of them even seemed disappointed. Laurent disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared and Gael murmured a "cheers mate" to Kam, who only nodded stiffly at her.

"What the hell?" Alice blurted out, as Gael snatched a glass of water from a table and knocked it back in one go, "I saw a full scale fight about to start there."

"Yeah..." Gael looked pretty shaken herself, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Sorry, I just...all of this," she gestured around the hall, "vampire scents all around, creatures that I am trained to hunt down..." she blew all the air out from her inflated cheeks her eyes flickered to Jasper and Edward, "you'll know what I mean? Its like you're in a massive crowd of humans and you know you can't drink a drop from any of them."

Jasper nodded slowly and Edward's face creased in discomfort, "Yes, is it the same thing with you?"

She nodded, eyes flickering around the room, "and all it takes is provocation and then-" she smacked her fist into her open palm and shook her head almost violently. "Things could have gotten very...messy." She shuddered and Kam patted her back and then quickly signalled to her with quick hand movements. She shook her head and smiled weakly, signing back to him.

"I thought that was just a myth," Jasper murmured, eyes fixed on Gael.

"Well, it's not a secret or anything," Gael explained, sitting heavily on a chair, "but we prefer not to talk about it. Its why we have partners," she glanced at Kam who flashed her a smile, "in case the other one gets caught in the Fury."

She smoothed her hands over her dress and took another deep breath, "I'm sorry you had to see that. That was very unprofessional of me, I apologise."

"It's not your fault," Edward said quietly, "at least you stopped before it got too far."

Gael grimaced and then got up, "I'm just going for a bout of fresh air, clear my head. See you in a tick."

She wended her way through to the windows as we watched her go. "God," Alice said, pressing her hand to her temple, "you know, I caught a flash of something as that was happening and I did honestly see full scale bloodshed." She shuddered delicately, her face drained of colour.

I could only nod; taking a sip of the wine Edward had brought me. He sat beside me and stroked back my hair from my ear, "are you ok?" he whispered, hot breath tickling the baby hair at the nape of my neck.

I nodded, turning my head to face him, "yeah, just...taking it all in."

He smiled and gently pressed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes as he kissed me tenderly and I kissed him back with the same tenderness. Behind the red cover of my lids, I saw the flash of light and heard the click of shutters as we kissed. The thought of people taking pictures of us having our moments nauseated me and I almost wanted to pull away. But Edward fluttered his hands up to cup my face and stroke his thumbs against my cheekbones, bringing me back to him and him alone.

Thank God.

Eventually it was him that pulled away and he pressed his forehead against mine, "one more dance, and then it'll be time to eat."

I laughed at his look of joy at the mention of a dance and allowed him to take me to the floor again.

He was right of course. After that dance, dinner we served, more luxuriant than ever. Lobster, black truffles, mangoes in vanilla cream, light parcels of ravioli contains cheese that dissolved on the tongue and so much more.

The music never stopped and it was the same with the dancing. I drank more champagne and white wines than I have ever had in my life before. I saw the Bells on another table across from us. Maggie had to sit out most of the faster dances but Agatha and Jack were nearly always out dancing, Agatha's hair smoothed into a twist at the back of her head and she looked beautiful in a pale blue dress, her cheeks flushed with enjoyment as Jack twirled her laughing in their dances.

I learned that Edward loved to dance. Like, _really _loved to dance. He explained that he was taught it as a little boy and he'd always secretly dreamed of dancing the same way with his consort.

Yes, I know. That is unbearably romantic and cute.

In that one night, it felt like I'd lost 30 pounds from just sweeping around the ballroom. All the while, humans mingled in the crowd of vampires, some females and even a few males, being charmed by the few single vampires that drifted unattached through the crowd. I heard the clicks of cameras and the flash of light bulbs I know where aimed at me but I ignored them, focusing Edward's emerald eyes.

His beautiful emerald eyes.

We were out dancing until dawn started to stain its way across the night sky outside. But I didn't feel tired. The light bulb feeling was back, humming through my body as I was tucked close to Edward for most of the night.

I, for the first time in my life, enjoyed a party.

As the night was drawing to a close, I caught the gaze of Aro Volturi. He was sitting on a dais, exempt from the celebrations of his subjects, his consort, brothers and their consorts sitting around him. He gave me a pleased smile and clapped his hands in a silent round of applause.

Relief washed through me, and I almost slumped against Edward with the force of it, "What is it?" he asked, holding up my chin to look into my eyes.

I smiled widely, wrapped my arms around Edward's neck. "We did it," I said simply before taking his lips in one fierce clash.

I could feel his smile and he swung me around where we were, uncaring of the people around us. "My amazing girl," he murmured after we broke apart, setting me down on the ground again and cupping my face.

Looking into his eyes and knowing that the worst was over made the final piece of him click into place.

I jolted with the knowledge, my eyes wide as I knew.

I was ready.

I was ready for all of him.

My stomach contracted with butterflies and fear and excitement coursed through my bloodstream. The light bulb feeling intensified that I was surprised my skin wasn't glowing with the force of it.

Edward was giving me a confused look, as he probably heard my heart start thudding away at an accelerated pace. "Bella? What's-"

I placed a finger against his lips to stop him talking. I leaned up on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "I'm ready."

I felt him tense beneath my hands and a whoosh of breath escaped him. "Are you…are you sure?" he asked, anticipation skittering around in his tone.

I pulled away, grinned widely and nodded only once, cupping his face once more.

The widest grin I had ever seen on him broke across his face and the next minute he was kissing me with a heat that scorched my skin from my hairline to my very toes. I felt the sting of his fangs against my lips and my anticipation spiked in my blood.

Holy. _Shit_.

He pulled away, grinning triumphantly, "Shall we get out of here?"

I was feeling dizzy and I was afraid if I didn't get some fresh air I was going to topple head first into the punch next to us. "Just give me a human minute…yeah, lets go."

He purred, actually purred, and kissed me one last time, "Don't take too long Isabella."

The use of my full name made white-hot electricity crackle to my core and I bit my lip hard. I broke away from him, giving him one last look before I went outside. His copper hair was no longer smoothed back because I'd threaded my hands through it so much through the night and his eyes were darkened in carnal heat as he watched me go. His suit was still impeccably turned out and his skin glowed in the candlelight.

I winked at him once and then slipped out of the hall through one of the French windows. I was now standing over a balcony that overlooked one of the many gardens that surrounded the dance hall. The sun was peeking over the horizon and I could feel its weak rays heat my skin. It turned the edges of the trees into molten gold and the sky into grapefruit pink. It was pretty chilled and dew sparkled on the Mediterranean flowers in the flowerpots around. I watched the sun rise and breathed in great gulps of the cool morning air.

In that moment, all was quiet and still.

I just watched the sun make its tentative way into the sky and basked in the giddy feeling that tugged on my body

I hardly heard the party behind me.

Neither did I hear the vampire underneath the balcony.

So I was quite unprepared, when the vampire shot a dart into my thigh.

I couldn't scream.

I was too surprised.

Falling was a slow affair. It was almost in slow motion.

Last thing I remember was a masked face bending over me before blackness crawled across my vision.

**Don't kill me. Please. I'm still young and have my entire life ahead of me. **

**Who do you think dunnit? People who have read this before, don't give it away!**

**Poor Gael. The wolves are circling tonight...**

**Uncensored version is now up! Find it at the Writer's Coffee Shop (FF is being stupid and not letting me do a link) so just search for this story by the same pen name. **

**Take _that_ LawlClan! Mwahahaha!**

**Bones**

**Random Fact # 15: My favourite movie ever is _Gone With the Wind_. Clark Gable is yummy. Vivan Leigh is inspiring. Its just...awesome. Too awesome.**


	17. Trapped

**I do not own Twilight. **

**Did ya see it? Did ya see it? The banner? Yeah? You see it now? It was made by ysar…complete surprise on my part. **

**My first reaction: Hmm, what's this link to? Well let's see…OMG ITS A MOTHERFUDGING BANNER! OMG ITS AWESOME! I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OVER HOW FREAKING COOL AND AWESOME IT IS! AAAAAAHHHHHH!...etc. etc.**

**Yeah…you get the point. **

**I think its too cool for words…**

**Thank you ysar! **

**Warning: sexual abuse**

_Trapped_

There is really nothing quite like waking up in the car trunk, tied up and with a gag in your mouth.

You wake up slowly, with your ears ringing and eyes feeling all gummed together. The shuddering and harsh jumps of the car trunk rattle your teeth and batter your tailbone. It's unbearably hot; your body is sheened with sweat, soaking into the silk of your dress.

You have just been kidnapped.

.

.

.

_Fuck! _

Panic tore through me and I screamed, the sound muffled by the coarse, bitter fabric in my mouth. I beat my tied hands against the roof of car trunk, stamping my feet against the side. Tears sprung to my eyes as I hollered until my throat burned in protest.

The car bumped brutally and I smacked my head against the roof of the tailgate. Flowers blossomed in my vision and something hot trickled down my brow. Iron stained the air and I gagged, trying to keep what little I had eaten during the ball.

I dropped my burning hands into my lap and whimpered, the car continued to rock me about in the large trunk.

For a while I just sobbed, taking huge gulping breaths through my nose as leaked out of my eyes and into my hair. My breath came out in wailing sobs, my mouth becoming stickily dry from the gag.

It took me a while to calm down.

I needed to calm down. The trunk of a car isn't exactly airtight but you could pass out after 12 hours. Hyperventilating would only kill me.

Some rational part of my mind shot through my brain and jolted me out of my tantrum like state. Swallowing down the hysteria, I focused on the one thing that mattered:

I had to get back.

I had to get back for him.

It was like a mini Charlie sprung up in my ear and began telling me what to do in that no-nonsense "I'm-a-police-Chief-and-you're-my-daughter-so-I-have-to-give-you-this-lecture-for-more-than-a-million-times."

My hands hiked the hem of my dress up and I reached for the holster strapped to my thigh. I pulled the cool dagger into my sweating fingers and tried to slice my hands free. It was incredibly awkward though; my hands were slipping on the handle and it was clear that the dagger was more suited to stabbing rather than cutting. After a few grunting minutes I gave up, panting through my nose as I slipped the dagger into the holster. I next tried looking for a car jack, to crack the trunk door open and wave to other motorists. It was in vain though; all I found was scruffy leather shoe, a couple of spanners and a foreign porn magazine.

As I tried to keep calm, mini Charlie began to explain the trunk release catch and the cable.

I felt around again, fumbling along the edge of the tailgate for something. I almost started crying again when I found the small metal catch near the centre of the tailgate and pulled with all my might.

Nothing happened.

I fumbled along again, trying to see what was wrong only to find that the cable had been snapped.

Cocksucking bastards.

Mini Charlie began to tell me urgently about the possibility of escaping through the backseats if I pushed hard enough.

Turned out the trunk was completely separate from the back seat.

Mini Charlie, panic in his voice now, told me to take out the taillights and signal to other motorists.

My fingernails scrabbled for the taillight but found that someone had taped it over with thick industrial duct tape, which was near impossible to scrape off or kick against.

Mini Charlie seemed to melt away at that point saying glumly, "you're on your own now, kid."

Its official. I'm fucking insane now.

I slumped against the floor of the trunk and tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes again and into my hair.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuckity, _fuck_ and then some_._

Don't panic. Don't. Panic.

Just wait for the destination.

Spring the driver when he comes to get you.

Pray to some deity that gives a fuck that the others knew I was gone and were looking for me.

Oh shit.

Cullen.

He'll be going crazy.

Cullen.

Cullen.

Cullen.

Edward.

***B*F***

I don't know how long I was in there for. I focused on trying to make sure I wasn't battered about too much by the rocking of the car. My thoughts span in circles, faces flashed on my retina and it was fighting off a panic attack was like fighting off a hundred rabid dogs. I found if I closed my eyes and focused on Cullen, that I would calm down somewhat. I remembered his scent of lemons and peppermint and the way he'd held me that very night. I had to remember.

After what felt like years, I heard the car driving across skittish gravel, the sound hissing against the tires. I stirred from where I laid, trying to hear over the gravel to see if there were any clues as to where I was. I heard nothing though and I dropped my head back down against the floor. The car was starting to slow though and it eventually stopped completely. I stirred restlessly, glancing up at the closed boot door, tensing in readiness.

I could jump them. I scrabbled around for the dagger and clutched it in my sweaty hands, deciding to use it against my kidnapper. Go for the eyes, throat or nose.

What if there are two?

Ahh… just hope that there's not two.

Suddenly, the boot door was opened and the boot is flooded with light. I blink at the sudden brightness, my eyes stinging painfully. I wave my dagger about blindly between my tied fingers before I felt it knocked away.

"_Stai linistit! _Don't move, or you will be dead before you can even blink._"_

I jolted at the gruff voice blinking the sunlight away until I saw a black balaclava'd man bending over me. I could only see his molten blue eyes as he grabbed the tops of my arms and jerked me up roughly. I cried out against my gag, as my aching muscles screamed in protest at the sudden movement. The man hoisted me over his shoulder and stalked away from the car, with me swaying limply down his back, arms over my head. My head was spinning as the blood rushed to my head and I felt like I was about to vomit again. I struggled weakly and the person carrying me smacked my thigh.

"_Stai linistit!_"

I tried to say a 'fuck you' behind the gag before falling limp again. More gravel passed below my head and then the vampire, I assumed he was a vampire because of the balaclava, ascended dusty stone steps. The sun beat down on us, explaining the heat from the car, and I heard the sound of lapping water and motorboats. But it was only moments before we had entered blessed cool. Polished marble glided beneath my head as the vampire continued to carry me.

"Cezar? What the hell do you think you are doing?" A female's voice echoed out from somewhere behind me.

The vampire bowed and I groaned in protest.

Somebody please put me out of my misery.

"_Doamna_," the vampire murmured to the unseen woman and I dangled, wondering idly if my head was about to explode from the blood pressure.

"Put her down this instant! She's not a sack of flour for you to lumber around," the voice scolded, "you were supposed to bring her in a civilized manner, not as some dog you put in the back of a trunk!"

The voice spoke in perfect fluent English, with a slight foreign accent I couldn't detect. "Please, for the love of God, don't tell me you put her in the back of a boot?"

There was pregnant pause, before… "CEZAR!"

Suddenly, I was on the cool marble floor in front of the vampire who had brought me and at the feet of a statuesque ash white blonde haired woman, hands on her hips, her dark green eyes glittering with fury at the vampire behind me. "If Stefan was here he would rip you limb from limb and feed you to the hounds. You were given specific instructions, and what did you do?" At the sound of this angry woman's voice I recoiled, curling into a ball on the floor. She emanated power, influence. She also seemed insanely old. It didn't matter that she looked barely in her late 20s, she just seemed to radiate age.

Cezar dropped to his knees, and then to this front, crawling forwards to kiss the hem of the woman's deep purple dress. "_Iartă-mă, vă rugăm să doamna mea, iartă-mă_," he murmured, his voice breaking slightly, "_iartă-mă_."

The woman kicked out sharply with her stiletto heel, causing the man to sprawl backwards, "I don't give a shit about your apologies, Cezar. We're at war here, we cannot afford stupid mistakes by arrogant bastards. Do you understand me?"

"_Da_, _Doamna, da,_" the vampire whispered. I could see his eyes were now wide with terror as he stared at the beautiful woman before him.

"Stefan and Vladimir will hear of this, Cezar. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I make you regret the day you came screaming into this world," she hissed. Cezar scurried away and the woman sighed, rubbing her temples as if she was getting a headache. "You cannot get the service these days, I tell you…" she muttered distractedly before snapping her attention to me, "I apologise. You were meant to come under more civilized circumstances." She gave me a wicked grin and then hollered over her shoulder, "DINA!"

A girl about my age rushed to the woman's side, her face flushed with exertion.

"Get this girl clean and dressed, then take her to one of the guest rooms. Make sure she is fed and that she doesn't escape the guest room. She must be ready for the Fathers' awakening tonight."

The girl bobbed her head then bent down and grabbed my hands with surprising strength, hoisting me to my feet. I stumbled yet turned my head to look at the woman again, "what do you want with me?"

The woman arched her eyebrow, as if I'd asked her why the ocean is big, "That's really none of you concern at the minute." She waved her hand dismissively, "now go, you stink worse than the goats my mother used to rear. Go!"

I opened my mouth to retort but was yanked by the girl again, made to hurry behind her. I gave the woman one last look, catching a glimpse of another equally beautiful woman with sleek strawberry blonde hair, walking up to meet her, both of them staring after me. The girl tugged on my hand again, gesturing silently for me to move. I huffed and followed her as she took me through a maze of corridors. It was much like the Volturi palace and I caught glimpses of a massive lake through large open windows. The girl continued on until we turned into a bathroom, with a large bath and shower, fluffy towels and cool marble floors. She shut the door and knelt by the bath, turning the golden brass taps until steaming hot water flooded out. As she waited for the bath to fill I examined her for the first time. She was quite pretty, with chocolate coloured skin and mahogany hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. She was dressed in a simple tunic thing, with a white apron on top. I tried to talk to her:

"Where the fuck am I?"

No answer.

"Why am I here?"

No answer.

"Who were the women in the foyer?"

No answer.

"Hello? Earth to…Dina? That's your name right?"

No answer.

The girl got up once the bath was full and gestured to the towels, dressing gown and bottles on the shelves. She then hurried out of the room, locking the door behind her. I couldn't help but futilely try to unlock the door after she left.

Fail.

I turned back around and viewed the windowless room.

"Shit."

I began searching the cupboards, looking for a razor or something to defend myself with.

In the end I did find razors.

With the blades removed, the plastic razor handle still whole.

Bastards.

With the option of finding a weapon now fucked, I turned my attention to the bath again.

There was nothing else I could do, other than what I was told.

I glanced in the mirror above the sink and swore once again. My hair that was once in smooth sheets was now in snarls all over my head, blood congealing around my forehead. My make up was now convinced it was Halloween, as most of it was streaked across my face. The dress was stained from being in the car. I frowned before unzipping the dress and letting it pool around my feet, and then stripped off the rest of my clothes.

I turned away and stepped into the hot water. I sank down and bit my lip so as not groan. The ache in my muscles drained away with the hot water and I lay there for a minute while I tried to collect my thoughts.

These people were obviously organised. The scary woman mentioned a war, so since I'm dealing with vampires, and the War of Sticks and Stones is the only vampire war that I know of that is going on, so judging by all the Slavic names, I'm guessing it's the Petrov Coven.

Well aren't I fucking Miss Marple?

I glared up at the ceiling, before dunking my head underneath the water.

Just my shitty luck.

Everyone always said that I would be a weak point, a target because a snap decision I'd made on a cold Forks afternoon. It never really seemed like something I should have really worried about because everyone said they always had it under control.

Stupid really.

I just needed to stay calm and figure things out as I went along.

God knows vampires aren't predictable creatures.

I rinsed out my hair, removing the blood clots with the shampoo on the side of the bath, and then washed my body. Once the bath turned cold I got out and wrapped a robe around me. The girl entered almost immediately after that, handing me a blue dress that fell right to the floor and a pair of sandals. "Thank you," I tried to say, taking it from her but she had already gathered my discarded clothes, turned her back and was out of the door before I finished saying the words.

I sighed and pulled the dress over my head and slipped my feet into the sandals. The dress was plain, and hid most of skin apart from my arms. The girl came back in again, took my hand and tugged me out again. She was silent all the way to a regal gold bedroom, with high windows. On a table by the fireplace, a meal was set out and the girl gestured to the seat, indicating me to sit.

I did so slowly as she locked the door again and then waited patiently by the fireplace. The meal consisted of a few platters of Italian meats, bread and salad set out neatly for me to pick and choose from for my plate. My stomach growled and I realised how hungry I was. I quickly helped myself to the food. I looked at the girl again. She was staring straight ahead, her hands behind her back.

"Uhm…do you want some?" I said, gesturing to the food. She shook her head, not even looking at me.

"Do you talk at all?" I finally asked irritably.

She finally looked at me, head cocked onto one side. She then motioned to her throat, making a slicing movement with her finger.

Ah.

"Oh…uhm…sorry, I…I didn't realise."

She shrugged in a matter that had me thinking it wasn't the first time someone had mistaken her muteness. She motioned for me to start eating again before turning back to her original position. She stood, still as a statue as I slowly began eating again. There was silence again. I listened to the hush of a warm wind outside and the sound of boats going around the lake. My eyes scanned the view from the windows, taking in the azure blue of the lake. Dusty green hills sloped upwards from the water, forming gentle curves against the blue of the sky. There was a garden surrounding the house, leading down the water's edge, with Mediterranean trees in full flower.

It was a beautiful place. Seemed kinda odd to me that I was being held captive here.

Once I had finished, the girl gathered my plates and left, leaving me alone in the bedroom. As soon as she left, I got up and tried opening the windows to no success. When I looked at the glass, I realised it was that plate stuff, that was supposed to deflect bullets and stuff, so that put out smashing out the window. I hurried back the door and tried the door again, just in case.

Utter fail.

I growled in frustration, pushed away from the door and ran my fingers through my hair.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

I paced around the room, opening drawers and cupboards to try and find something useful, anything useful. All I found were linens and empty perfume bottles.

"Fuck!" I swore, leaving the chaos I'd made on the floor and from the cupboards. I kicked the foot of the bed in frustration and all it awarded me was a throbbing toe.

May I say it again:

Fucking vampires.

***B*F***

No one mentions, when they are kidnapped, how boring it is.

I remained in that room for three days.

First day, I paced, too agitated to sit down.

Then I went to the window and looked out, waving frantically at the boats on the water in the useless attempt to get their attention.

Then I just settled for watching the world go by, sitting in the window seat, knees to my chest.

Three times a day, Dina brought meals to me. I refused to eat them, allowing them to grow stale on the table. First night, Dina brought a long night shift: true _Dracula-_damsel in distress shit. I eyed her like she was off her meds and she shrugged placing it neatly on the bed. She whisked away again leaving me in the darkening room.

I eventually crawled underneath of the covers and curled in on myself, not getting up unless for the toilet that was part of the en suite in the next room, also windowless.

I thought of so many things. So many people

Why I was here, My dad, the Assembly, the ball, Rose, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, the two blonde women in the foyer, Esme, Carlisle, the Volturi brothers, wars, hunters, Gael, Kam, blood, Gran, all swirling around in my head.

But there was only one constant thought.

Vampadonis

Cullen.

Edward.

What was he doing, right now?

I closed my eyes and tried to see his face.

I tried to hear his voice, smell his scent.

I couldn't remember a time when I'd yearned for a person so much.

Not Charlie or mom or Gran or even Jake.

I wanted him to come bursting through that door and gather me up in his arms and whisper stupid things into my hair and kiss it all away.

I wanted him to make me laugh and then make me swoon with a look. I wanted us to go far, far, far away, where no one could find us.

No one.

Like a child afraid of the monster in the closet, I buried myself further into the covers, creating a wall of feathers and cotton against everything.

***B*F***

On the third day, I watched the sky darken, turning to purple and gold, stars beginning to pepper the sky. The door opened and the girl returned, another dark long dress in her arms. She beckoned me to come and I detangled myself from the covers and slipped out, coming over to where she stood. She frowned, handed me the dress and jerked her head at me, eying me from head to toe. I sighed, no longer really caring about modesty anymore, and stripped off the crumpled dress I'd been wearing and pulled on the new one. Once done, her lips twitched into the guise of a smile. She took my hand, tugged again and we were off, down the halls again. We flew down a flight of stairs and across another marble hall. We stopped abruptly outside a set of oak doors. The girl pushed one of them till it was ajar and she shoved me through. I stumbled into what appeared to be a dining room. It was a dark room, with thick red drapes over the closed windows and dark red roses in large black vases. Thankfully, there weren't any detailed pictures of vampire battles. The table was set for a full meal but there was no one in the room.

I hurried across to the table and picked up a sharp knife to sneak into my hand. I then glanced around the room, wondering what the hell was going on. I glanced back at the table again and noticed the cards next to every table place. "Isabella" was written in elegant script on one of the cards.

"What…?" I muttered confusingly to myself.

This has to be the weirdest kidnapping ever.

"I'd put down the knife if I were you."

I jumped out of my skin, the knife clanging to the floor.

The white blonde woman from earlier glided into the room, smirking amusedly at me, "its considered rude if you try to arm yourself with the cutlery."

I remained silent, staring at the woman as she walked to the table, "Stefan and Vladimir have just arisen. They'll be with us in a minute. Sit down."

It wasn't a suggestion.

I slowly sat down before bending down to pick up the knife and then dropping it onto the table with a clatter.

She arched her eyebrows at me, shook her head and then, turned her head to call back outside the dining room, "_Tanya_! _Торопитесь_!" the graceful strawberry blonde from earlier entered, tossing the curls over her shoulder and grinning.

"This is her, Irina?" she asked, coming forward to me. I flinched away from her and she laughed. "So young. She's like a young colt, skittish, insecure. Remember when we were that young, Ri-ri?"

Why am I constantly being compared to a horse?

The other woman came up behind her, staring at me with an intensity that made me extremely uncomfortable. "So much to learn, so much to understand."

I cleared my throat, clasping my hands into fists to stop them shaking, "What do you want with me?"

"I haven't I told you that isn't any concern of yours?" The ash blonde told me irritably, moving away and around the table to sit opposite me. The other woman did likewise, sitting next to the ash blonde.

"Could you at least tell me your names?" I asked desperately, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Irina," the white blonde woman said carelessly.

"Tanya," the other replied, still grinning like she was the cat that got the canary.

Poor fucking canary.

I said bluntly, my mouth beginning to feel dry, "I assume you know who I am?"

"Of course," Tanya trilled, leaning forward and cocking her head onto one side, "You're Isabella Marie Swan. The Girl who Ran."

I grimaced at the nickname and stared down at my hands.

"I really fucking hate that nickname," I muttered to myself.

"Oh I don't know. It has a certain ring to it."

My heart nearly burst out of my chest. The new male voice chuckled and I felt the air change behind me as someone walked up behind me. "Your hair is darker than in the photographs."

Keeping my fists clenched I watched as the someone behind me tossed photographs onto the table. I saw the images of me of getting groceries, of doing my homework in the front room at home, of me kissing Edward at the front of the Crypt.

Anger, hot and red, shot through me, "You've been watching me?"

"We have people everywhere," a second male voice rumbled. They both came into my line of vision. One had pale blonde hair and the other inky black hair. Their ochre eyes fixed on me, an amused smile on their thin lips. Much like their mates and the Volturi brothers, they radiated age and they circled around to the heads of the table. Like the Volturi brothers, there was something sinister about them. The way their eyes gleamed like a cats' in the low light as they stared at me made my skin prickle.

They, like the Volturi brothers, made me want to run.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Stefan," said the dark haired vampire and then he gestured to the other vampire, "And this is my brother, Vladimir."

"Its an honour," the other vampire said, bowing his head. "We don't need to reiterate what we'll do if you do not listen do we, Isabella? The fact that you had this," Vladimir pulled out the wooden dagger, the wood gleaming gold and red in the light, "proves that you know how dangerous vampires can be. Please behave yourself."

Oh.

Fucking.

Shit.

This is not good.

So. Not. _Good_.

They both sat themselves down before Dina entered the room again. She set before me a plate of clear, orange soup with assorted vegetables at the bottom. She whisked away again, not serving the others anything.

"Eat Isabella. We need to talk," Stefan said encouragingly, steepling his fingers together, "I must apologise for the way you arrived this morning. Cezar is being punished as we speak. Now eat."

My stomach was churning, I felt like I was about to hurl. "I'm not hungry," I told them simply, trying not to let tremors through.

Something flashed in his gaze. "Eat."

His tone went from light and welcoming to icy cold within a heartbeat. The others all stared, the tension thick. I swallowed drily, but picked up my soupspoon, dipped it into the liquid and brought it to my lips. Stefan grinned as I drank down the salty soup and said, "Good. Well do I need to explain who we are?"

"The Petrov Coven," I replied as soon as I swallowed my soup, "You're the opponents to the Volturi brothers in the war."

"Looks like Carlisle have been giving you lessons. Good, I do hate ignorant people," Stefan's smile looked a little twisted. "Have you guessed why you are here?"

"You want to use me," I said, gripping my spoon until my knuckles turned white.

"How? And why you in particular?"

"Uh…because I ran from Edward." I swallowed, "I suppose you see me as a weak spot."

"Eat up, you've hardly touched your soup."

I gritted my teeth, "Why don't you eat?"

They all laughed, as if I was a toddler asking naïve questions. "As you get older, the less you need the sustenance," Tanya explained, "We haven't eaten in two weeks."

I looked at them all, these deceptively perfect people and I tried hard not to bolt from the table. How far along do you have to be to not do such a basic thing of eating? Will I ever reach that point?

It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"Please," I said, trying to get the bitter taste of fear from my tongue, "can we please just get on to the part I'm here for? I've been tied up, drugged, thrown into the back of a car and kept in a room for three days. I'd like to know what is going on."

"Eat first. You haven't eaten in three days," Tanya put in, arching an eyebrow at me.

I curled my fingers into my palms, the nails biting into my skin, "I. Am. Not. Hungry."

There was an icy pause. You could freeze water with tension in the room.

"They're not wrong about your destructive streak," Stefan murmured, eyeing me with some sort of disdain.

Oh for the love of _fuck_.

I get it. I'm a little brat with an attitude problem who just swears at everything. Fucking sue me. I could be a lot worse.

I repeated, with deliberate slowness, "What do you want?"

Another pause and then the flicker of a smile from Irina, "I think I like her."

Stefan glanced at her, something twitching at his lips before returning his attention back to me. "We understand that your mating with Edward Cullen has not been cordial. You wish for freedom. The anomaly in your brain makes it impossible for you to make the connection with him. We can offer you this freedom if you promise to act as an insider to the Romans and their plans. We will grant you peace, if you give us information of new fronts being made upon our territory. In exchange, we can protect you from him. From all of them. We can give your freedom back."

I chewed on my lips. They may have been watching me but they obviously did not know as much as they liked to think.

So…what will they do instead?

Aaah…this isn't starting to look so good.

"That…isn't going to work," I said carefully, tracing the edge of the tablecloth.

"Why?" the question was short, and edging on danger.

"Uhm…because…I've kinda grown to like Edward. Years of being tied to him are not looking so bad, y'know?" I said it lightly, trying to lessen the dark mood that was starting to settle over the table.

"Well…that changes things."

They all looked to each other, and they seemed to silently decide something. Tanya sighed, smoothing back her hair. "Pity," she murmured, gazing over me with an odd look in her eyes, "she would have been intriguing."

Vladimir then tapped on the wood of the table twice. I heard the creak of a door and a gravelly male voice, "Master, you called?"

"Take Isabella to the barracks. My treat," Vladimir said, gesturing to me and smiling like he just offered ice cream.

Ice drenched my body and the world seemed to freeze.

"What?" I croaked, staring at him.

"If you won't go to them and give us information, we'll make them come to us. As soon as Edward learns of your death, he will go mad and make headway for us. The Cullen family will follow to protect one of their own and the Volturi will have no choice but to advance forwards as well. Their attack will be disorganised and predictable. And we will finally blast them to oblivion," He tapped his temple and grinned, "You see, there was always going to be a use for you."

_What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger_.

Edward's face swam in my vision. I saw his smile.

Without thought, my hand darted out and grabbed the wooden dagger from Vladimir's place. Knocking over my chair I stabbed forward to the vampire behind me, who was the same size as Emmett, and he smirked at my mode of defence. "I've always liked fighters. They always taste so much better."

At his words, I lunged forward, the wooden blade hitting against his sternum. It pierced his clothes and blood, cherry red and shining, trickled down the front of his uniform.

He only laughed, grabbed my wrist and hauled me forwards, knocking the dagger away. "Come, little phoenix. The boys are hungry and it's been so long since we've had the pleasure of soft flesh."

He buried his nose into my hair and inhaled. I squirmed and screamed and I felt something harden against my stomach. The vampire groaned, dragging me away from the room, "underneath his stench, you smell delicious. It won't be hard to get over."

He pulled me away and I heard the tinkling laughter of the women behind me as I thrashed in his grip. Streams of curses issued from my mouth as I fought, scratching, biting, kicking, punching and shrieking until my muscles and voice tore in agony. I felt the brush of cool night air and I saw how we were heading out to another house further out. Lights streamed out and the vampire holding me called out, "We have a gift from the Master!"

Jeers and catcalls filled the night and the vampire laughed.

Terror and fury all mashed up together tunnelled through me and the only thing that did not let me give up was his voice. Whispering in my ear. I heard him.

_Keep fighting_.

_Keep fighting, my beautiful girl. _

_I'm coming_.

"The harder you fight, the better your blood will taste," the vampire murmured, fangs elongated, eyes glittering with a hard darkness. "You're so hot. So soft. The Cullen boy hasn't taken you yet has he? Shall I show you what a real man is like, hmm? We'll all take turns showing you."

"Fuck you, motherfucking, cocksucking, son of a bitch, leech!" I screamed, "Cullen will gut you alive but not before I will with a motherfucking rusty fork!"

"We'll see about that," the vampire said confidently, palming me through my dress, making my skin crawl.

For a few horrible moments, I thought that would be it.

I thought that I would never go home. I would never tell Charlie what Italy was like. I would never make it up with Jake. I would never have the girls take me out on another shopping trip. I would never have Edward hold me in his arms one last time.

I thought I would die for a war I was only beginning to understand, for a world that I had not deemed myself to be a part of.

But then I heard.

"Yes, I think we will see."

The vampire's grin froze. He suddenly gargled, a trickle of blood dribbling past his lips. His grip loosened and I nearly fell to the ground. But not before someone caught me.

"Bella," Edward whispered, one arm around my waist, the other snaking up to the back of my skull, wrapping his fist into the tendrils of my hair, "Bella." His voice was broken as he spoke, his scent blasting through me. I tangled my fingers into his hair, the other hand gripping his shirt in my fist.

"You came," I sobbed, pressing my head close to his chest, so I could hear his thundering heartbeat.

"I'm never going to let you go," he swore, pulling away so I could see his dark forest green eyes, "_never_."

I heard other vampires speeding after the ones in the barracks but we were alone in our own bubble. He peppered my face with kisses, before taking my lips in one fierce clash. He kissed me hungrily, desperately and I met him with equal force. My tears stained the kiss salty.

He found me.

**Fast detour I know. But... I didn't want to drag this for too long. **

**They're together again! YAY! That was a close shave though…the Petrov coven are creeeeeppy. Yuk… I feel sorry for Dina…she has to deal with that every day…**

**A few bits of translation for you:**

_**Stai linistit! = **_**Keep still!**

_**Doamna = **_**Mistress**

_**Iartă-mă, vă rugăm să doamna mea, iartă-mă **_**= Forgive me, my mistress please, forgive me**

_**Торопитесь!**_**= Hurry up!**

**I'm Russian or Romanian so I had to use Google translate. If I've got these translations wrong, do tell me.**

**Please review, favourite and alert! Its always awesome to see new people joining this story and reviews (especially good ones) always give me an endorphin boost!**

**Til next time, **

**Bones**

**P.S. BTW, next time, Edward and Bella finally do it.**

**.**

**.**

**. **

**BOOM**

**Random Fact ****# 16: my first kiss was with my first boyfriend. We were both 8. He pulled me into a classroom and told me that since we were boyfriend and girlfriend we should kiss. So we did. **

**I thought it was the most disgusting thing in the world.**


	18. Escape

**I do not own Twilight. **

**Warning: Pure, undiluted, fluffiness.**

_Escape_

Quiet hushes of breath.

Hair tickling cheeks.

Lips barely millimetres apart.

Fingers touching my cheeks, lips, eyelids, forehead, so delicately, like I was blown glass.

My fingers do the same, tracing his jaw line, the outline of his mouth.

It was like we were learning each other. Reminding and revising everything we had thought we had lost.

It was exquisite.

We were barely aware of the discussion going on around us. We were sitting on what must have been a parlour in the now deserted villa; everything looking like a storm had blasted through it. The Petrov Coven had fled, leaving the vampire soldiers in the barracks to fend off the combined forces of the Denali, Cullen and Bell covens and Gael and Kam. It's fair to say that not many lived. Edward had not re-joined the fray after finding me, more preoccupied with keeping close to me as physically possible.

And that was fine with me.

"The Volturis are going to be here any minute. Is there anything in the house about the oppositions' plans?" I vaguely heard Carlisle ask. Edward skimmed his nose across my collarbone, drinking in my scent. I tilted my head back, feeling his lips press delicately in the dip between my collarbones, shivering at the sensation. I didn't feel self conscious about what we were doing. Really, I couldn't give a shit that others were with us.

"No, it looks like the Petrov coven took everything with them. They'll be out of the country by now," someone (I honestly couldn't tell who) said. Edward raised his head again, eyes locking and his lips tugged into a grin. I smiled weakly back and he pulled me close again. I had been sitting on his lap, but now I was sitting flush against his body, a wall of heat pressed against my stomach and chest.

"Has someone checked Bella for injuries?" That was definitely Gael. I think.

I heard someone draw close. Someone brushed their fingers on my shoulder, "Edward-" they tried to say gently but Edward was in no mood to let me go.

I suddenly practically couldn't breathe as with one arm he crushed me to his chest and snarled over my shoulder. His other arm snapped out and grabbed the offending hand. Bones cracked and the someone howled. Edward was uncaring; eyes were dark, fangs protruding out menacingly. Nothing said 'fuck off' better.

"Fuck! Edward! I wasn't gonna hurt her!" a voice cried.

Edward's snarl tapered off but he did not let go of the hand, glaring menacingly over my shoulder. Disliking the thrumming tension, I pulled my fingers soothingly through his hair, willing him to look at me. His dark eyes flickered back at me and they began to lighten by degrees. In a quiet, even voice I explained to him, "I think they want to check if I'm hurt."

He was silent, continuing to stare intently at me before his hands began to move. More feather touches over my ribs, arms, hips, legs and face. Sparks crackled under my skin and I bit my lip in restraint. "You're fine," he said dismissively after a few minutes of this. His hands cupped the bottom of my rib cage before smoothing back to my back, fingers linking over my spine.

There was more talking after this, but I paid no attention to any of it. I rested my head on Edward's shoulder and closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against the side of his neck. His hands threaded through my hair again, curling his fingers around the locks.

More talking. More not paying attention. I wanted it all to go away. The strategies and politics.

I wanted to run away.

Preferably with Edward.

Scratch that.

Edward was a must.

And just like that a plan to get away formed.

I lifted my head and said quietly, "Edward, can we go outside? I'd like some fresh air."

Edward looked at me like I'd just asked to walk across broken glass, then swim in shark infested waters, "because that went so well the last time."

I cupped his neck and locked gazes with him, trying to convey what I was aiming for, "please?"

Something flickered in his gaze, telling me he had an inkling of what I was planning and he pulled both of us up. "We're going outside," he said carelessly over his shoulder, one arm wrapped close to my waist and not waiting for a reply.

It was still inky night when we went through one of the French windows. I tugged Edward forward, giving him a meaningful look and jerking my head towards the garden further on. I didn't want the others to hear.

He cocked his eyebrows curiously but followed anyway. We passed through the neatly planned squares of foliage, the cedar trees hustling in a slight breeze. We reached the end of the garden, the house nearly hidden by the trees as we came to a stony beach. The moon reflected on the waters, shattering out along the skin of the water, the spots of stars doing the same thing. Clusters of towns glowed gold along the side of the surrounding hills, adding to the glittering scenery. It was quiet; all that could be heard was the quiet lapping of water.

I turned to him, taking his hands in mine and saying in a rush, "let's go, Vampadonis. Let's get out of here."

Edward's eyes sparked with anticipation and roguish grin pulled across his face, chasing away the sombreness that had dominated him for the past hour, "where to beautiful?"

I laughed at the nickname, already beginning to feel lighter, "you promised me Venice."

He cocked his head onto one side, grinning widely again, "Yes, I did."

He was about to gather me up, when I shouted, "wait!"

He gave me a puzzled look and I answered my searching his pockets. I finally found what I was looking for: his phone. Taking the sleek device I stepped back from him, swung my arm back and hurled the phone into the lake, where it fell with a loud splash. I turned back to him, giggling with how wonderfully batshit crazy I am. "Everyone else can fuck off now. We're busy."

He laughed and pulled me close, "that was unbelievably sexy, beautiful." He knocked my knees out from underneath me and caught my upper body as I fell. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I believe we have a train to catch," he murmured into my ear as he began to run.

***B*F***

He ran to Pesenzana Desenzano del Garda and managed to get two tickets for a midnight train to Venice. We sat in a rattling empty train carriage, passing the glowing lights of sleeping towns. We occupied an entire wooden bench to ourselves, with Edward leaning against the armrest and me curled into his chest as we watched the Italian fields go past.

It was stuffy in the train, so we had opened one of the windows to let the air rush in. We sat in silence as I listened to his heartbeat beneath my ear and his fingers massaged patterns on my back, letting the anticipation build and build.

I remembered my promise.

Somewhere between Verona and Padua, I said, "Uhm...before we do this, can I ask...are you a virgin?"

Edward paused in his ministrations to my back and said lowly, "I thought you would have guessed that by now?"

I shrugged absently, removing my head from his heart to look at him, "well?"

He stared down at me, arching his eyebrows, "yes. Is that going to be a problem?"

I smiled slowly, not really surprised and then pressed my lips against his gently. "No," I said gently against his mouth, "I'm just sorry that I wasn't as patient."

He groaned, his hands flexing against my skin, "be careful. I hadn't quite imagined losing my virginity by fucking you against a train carriage wall."

Hot liquid curled in my stomach and I laughed huskily and put my head against his chest again, "Alright, alright, I'll behave...somewhat."

He growled menacingly and squeezed my waist almost roughly. "Shush. I have not waited this long to cock it up. Pun intended."

I sniggered, "funny Vampadonis is funny."

"I can be quite the comedian sometimes," he said, his voice becoming audibly calmer, "you ever heard the joke about the businessman who walked into a bar and…"

He continued to tell me ridiculous jokes that had me sniggering into his shirt. Something told me he was doing it to cover up his nervousness.

Nothing like being a hundred and ten year old virgin.

***B*F***

It was something like 2 in the morning when we got into Venice. Edward took my hand and ran us through the station, running down to the docks to catch a water bus closer to the centre of Venice. I leaned against the railings, with Edward behind me, his hand braced against the railings on each side of me. I looked at the water that refracted the lights off of the buildings that appeared to float on the water.

"Where are we going?" I asked him over the sound of the water lapping against the side of the boat.

"A hotel on the canal. I think you'll like it," he said lightly.

"How are we paying for this?"

"There's a wonderful thing called a 'wallet'," he teased.

I stuck out my tongue at him, because I'm mature that way and he only laughed. I turned back and watched the silhouettes of the buildings go past as the boat drove onwards.

We eventually reached our stop, running past the grumpy Italian ticket master while laughing down the street. I nearly tripped over the long dress and swore as I nearly smacked down to the curb. "Stupid crappy dress!" I yelled, Edward catching my waist, "I am not spending my time in Venice in this thing."

"Darling, there will be time for that later," Edward said in a voice that was slightly strained, "you're not wearing it for long anyway. Not if I have a say in it."

My face flushed, "Flirt," I accused him, as we continued to move through the winding streets, flashing past glowing restaurants and bars.

He tossed crooked grin at me and said smoothly, "only the best."

"Cocky," I retorted, but I was grinning anyway.

"But you love it," he said back, pulling me into his chest and stealing my lips with his.

It was a brief kiss, but it managed to make the light bulb feeling in my body burn brighter. I groaned softly and he growled back, his hands slipping under the straps of my dress momentarily, burning a brand against my skin before he pulled away again. "C'mon beautiful," he murmured when he pulled away, as I still tasted his breath.

We ran down a canal and turned left, finally coming across a hotel entrance, the interior gently glowing, the brasses of the front door gleaming in the gold light of the outside lamps. A man dressed in a green suit opened the door for us, tipping his top hat to us, murmuring: "_Buonasera_."

We passed through to a marble foyer, the floor lined with gold and white coloured marble, vases of bursting flowers settled around the foyer. There was a set of stairs on the right; leading up to the Murals decorated the walls, depicting what looked like naked gods and goddesses having a _really_ good time.

Yeah, this bodes well.

Edward drew to a long mahogany desk; a smiling woman in similar green uniform was behind it. Edward began to speak in rapid Italian, and the woman replied, her smile flashing wider and she leaned forward to show a bit of her cleavage.

In retaliation, I wrapped my arm around Edward's waist and leaned up on my toes, in full seductive mode (I didn't even knew I had one before I met Edward) and whispered so that only he could hear, "She is totally checking you out. But if I do this," I nibbled on his earlobe and then blew cold air onto his now wet flesh. I grinned with satisfaction when he stiffened, a low hum vibrating his chest in anticipation, "she'll know _exactly_ whom you belong to."

He now openly snarled, startling the woman by the desk, then barked something intelligible at her, while jerking a sleek black card at her. She quickly grabbed the card, swiped it, deposited it and the keys on the desk and shrank back against the wall behind the desk, her eyes wide with fear. Grabbing the keys and the card, and gripping my hand to the point of pain, Edward pulled me past the stairs, through an archway leading to a long corridor. Our shoes clattered against the marble and doors flashed by. Apparently I was too slow because Edward growled in frustration because he pulled me up into his arms bridal style and the world blurred.

I squeaked when we jolted to a stop in front of a pair of double doors, a gold plaque labelling them as, "Lamia Deluxe Room."

My nerves spiked as I watched Edward scan the key and with a click we were in. He pulled me in with a yank and before the door closed behind us, he had me caged in his arms, mouth on mine. His tongue wet the seam of my lips and I opened, and the taste of him filled me: lemons and mint, yet something darker, something rough underneath.

I pulled away when I lost breath and gasped into his ear. "Take me away, Edward. Take me away."

His smouldering eyes met mine and his lips curled into a smile, white and crooked before he pulled me away in his arms, further into the hotel room.

***B*F***

Warm, comfortable yet bright.

Smelling distinctly of lemons, apples and something darker, muskier.

My head was pillowed on something that rose and fell softly, hot wind blowing on my cheek. The bite above my heart ached sorely, but it was in contrast with the sated feeling that rippled through me. His hand curved over my hip, fingers pointing inwards towards my stomach. His other hand was in mine, lying on his stomach.

I cracked my eyes open and peeked out.

_Feathers._

There were fucking _feathers._

I peeled myself off of Edward's chest to look at the carnage around us.

He broke the headboard.

He _fucking_ broke the headboard. Properly, there were splintered hand shaped dents and holes in the fucking headboard.

Feathers spilled out of torn pillows, feathers clinging to our hair.

Edward was sleeping amongst this chaos. I watched him for a moment, my eyes following the lines of his mouth and jaw. He looked peaceful, the calmest I'd ever seen him. There was something else too. I now felt...serene. It was only now that I realised how anxious and afraid I'd been before and now...it's all gone. Drained away.

Our bed, with its dusky red sheets and cream coloured pillows, was pushed up against the reddish pink wall; the furniture around us was cream, red and sumptuous. Intricate porcelain vases overflowed with exotic looking flowers, expensive oil paintings decorated the walls and the windows were draped with cream coloured velvet curtains.

A feather was stuck on his nose, fluttering up every time he breathed.

I couldn't help it. I sniggered.

His bottle green eyes snapped open and he looked at me, just looked, before he smiled back. "Good morning beautiful," he murmured quietly.

I grinned wider and settled on his chest again, gazing up at him, "good morning, Vampadonis."

His chest rumbled with laughter and he ran his fingers through my hair, "you're a bit fluffy love."

I plucked the feather off his nose and twirled it between my fingers, "I'm not the only one."

He glanced around, his smile turning sheepish, "I broke the headboard?"

I laughed out loud and kissed the tip of his chin, "you broke the headboard, Vampadonis. And tore a few pillows. I feel sorry for the housekeeping."

He sniggered quietly to himself, pink colouring his cheeks slightly, "sorry."

Edward embarrassed is adorkable. Seriously.

"That's ok baby," I murmured, "I like it that you erm…lost control."

He stroked his fingers through my hair, smiling thoughtfully, "Easy to do around you."

"Aw shucks," my face blushed and I buried it into his chest, "Was I really that good?" The words were muffled as I spoke but he heard me anyway.

"Worth the wait, I'd say," he teased, his fingers gently massaging my scalp.

I peeked up at him, taking in his grass green eyes and his tousled hair, with that little crooked smile and wondered how a bitch like me got so fucking lucky.

God.

"Thank you," I murmured, clasping my hands under my chin, "it was wonderful…"

He only smiled, caressing my cheek with his long fingers, tickling slightly the line of my jaw, "I'm just glad you're with me now."

I nodded silently and breathed in his scent again, to remind myself that I was still here, with him. "How…how did you find me?"

He tensed underneath me and I smoothed my hands soothingly over his skin, reminding him too that I was still here.

He swallowed though and ran his fingers tiredly through his hair, jaw clenched, "I waited for you and when you didn't come back after 10 minutes, I had Alice go outside to check on you, since the sun had started to rise." He suddenly wound me close, pressing his lips to my forehead as he quietly spoke, "and when she came back, saying that she couldn't find you anywhere…I felt like the air had been taken from me." His fingers threaded through my hair, combing the feathers out. "We had the grounds searched and we tracked yours and a vampire's scent heading off the Volturi grounds before disappearing altogether just outside the walls in one of the alleys. We figured he must have carried you to a car just outside of the perimeter. There was no way we could track your scent because of that." He took shuddering breath, "in a way, I'm glad you didn't see me then." His eyes were dark evergreen now, so conflicted that they were almost painful to look at. "We regrouped and tried to think of vampire groups that would try to take you. Gael and Kam used their contacts to search through lists of vampires. Unbeknownst to us, the Union keeps tabs on suspicious vampires: where they're going, where they've been, whom they've met. They flag up in their databases if they've made an unusual travel. We then found out that several vampires from Eastern Europe and East Russia had travelled to Forks around the same time as when I Marked you." He growled suddenly, tangling his fingers in my hair and pulling on it to the point of pain, "They were fucking tracking you for weeks."

I quickly combed through his hair, humming lowly to try and make him calm down. It seemed to work somewhat, as he took another shuddering breath, loosened his grip on me slightly and said quietly, "The vampires were known to be associated with the Petrov Coven. Now it was only a question of tracing the Petrov Coven's movements for the past month. We traced through their many companies under many acronyms and found that nearly all of them had bought a villa or house in Italy, dotted all around the country. We realised that they had known about you coming over to Italy, so they had bought multiple villas as a place to bring you to before taking you into Russia. It took us 2 days: calling associates in the local area to check out the houses to make sure you weren't in them before finally narrowing it down to villa on Lake Garda. We waited until sundown before the Cullens, Bells, Denalis, Gael and Kam raced up to Lake Garda. Just in time it seemed…" He tucked a curl behind my ear and cupped my cheek, "and the rest is history."

My throat was thick and there was a long silence as we contemplated each other. I then pressed my lips against his, a gentle comfort. We were silent as he kissed back, our tongues gently tangling. It was just us in our little cocoon, the rest of the world non existent. A slow an pleasant burn spread in my limbs, making me fist his hair, his hands gripping my hips. He suddenly flipped me over, surging over the top of me, peppering my face with kisses, moving down the column of my throat, latching onto the second bite on my throat, making it ache so fucking _good. _

We floated, alone on a surf of clouds.

By ourselves.

Thoughtless.

***B*F***

Eventually, the need for me to eat had us ordering room service. The maid left the tray carrying fruit, jam, pastries and orange juice outside our door, along with our two suitcases from Volterra with a small neatly wrapped package on top to it, with a note sitting on the brown paper:

_Have fun you guys! _

_Don't make babies. _

_Gael's words, not mine. _

_Love, _

_Alice_

Inside the package was a pack of condoms and morning after pills.

Weird pixie chick.

"Alice sends her love," I said, after I had brought the tray in, wrapped in white hotel dressing gown and staring down at the note before opening the pack of pills and knocking a couple back with the orange juice. He came up behind me in our light bedroom, wrapping his arms around me to read over my shoulder.

"Just as well," he muttered, picking up a strawberry and bringing it to my lips, so I could nibble on the sweet tart flesh.

"In bed?" I said huskily, glancing over my shoulder at him.

He cocked his eyebrow, smirked and then before I knew it, I was in the middle of our rumpled sheets, the tray next to me.

He then sat opposite me, bringing up my legs so they rested on his thighs and his shins rested either side of my thighs. The tray rested between us and he took time to pick up each morsel of food and feed it to me. I never thought being spoon-fed my breakfast would be a sexy thing. But then again, I had Edward Cullen to spoon-feed me.

Jealous?

Sucks to be you.

"So…what are we going to do in Venice?" I asked, hands smoothing up and down his thighs, our heads close together.

"Whatever you want," he said, "Venice is here for you."

I smiled and glanced around the room, seeing the sunlight stream through the windows, falling onto Edward's skin and not burning him. I frowned in confusion, "How come you can tolerate the sun here?" I asked him.

"The glass in these windows has UV filters," he explained quietly, "its going to be different outside though."

"You can't go out in the sun," I said quietly. I nuzzled my forehead against his, "I'm not going without you."

He also glanced at the falling light, frowning as he did so, "We can go at night. Venice is just as alive at night as it is during the day."

I nodded silently, and allowed a piece of pastry to pass my lips. I felt a tinge of disappointment that I couldn't see Venice during the day but I didn't say it. I should be grateful that I had time with Edward, just the two of us for once.

After our breakfast in bed, we made another order to the hotel: this time clothes. While we waited, we had a shower in the massive bathroom, with a huge walk in shower and whirlpool bath. After we washed and I had changed into a pair of navy shorts and a pale pink chiffon button-up shirt with brown leather sandals, I wandered about the hotel room a bit further as Edward began to 'plan our escape'. Apparently it was 'top secret' and therefore I couldn't be present when he was making the calls. I left him in our bright bedroom speaking fluent Italian into the hotel phone. I dawdled through the living room, with a crystal chandelier and large open French windows, giving a view of the large open canal that seemed to be the main thoroughfare for all of the major barges, gondolas, water buses and water taxis that hummed their way across the lapping waves, the sound of them tinkling in the hazy spring air. I stood by one of the soft leather sofas, rubbing the material up and down with my fingers.

I saw how these windows were lined with thick shutters on either side of it, designed to block out the light. I sighed, glancing around the silver and green decorated room, the large landscape paintings of Venice and of still life that were probably worth thousands. I wandered away and pressed my nose into one of the yellow roses being held in a large porcelain vase, part of a beautifully arranged bouquet. I walked into the fully stocked modern kitchen. The fridge was full of _Vitality_ and human food as well. Closing that I returned to the bathroom again and looked through the cabinets, at all the fancy shampoos and soaps. I saw a tub of something at the back of the cabinet and frowning picked it up. It was dark maroon in colour, with orange lettering on the front: _Piz Buin_: _Vampiro Protezione_. Weird name. I opened the tub and looked at the thick white paste that looked more viscous than axel grease. I took a sniff and it smelt faintly of apricots. I took it out and dawdled back to the bedroom, trying to read the fine print, but it was all in Italian. Edward was still talking, dressed in only a pair of jeans, his back pressed against the headboard. I crawled onto the bed and lay on my stomach, crossing my ankles. I propped my head on the heels of my hands, still clutching the tub of axel grease.

He smiled down at me, his eyes a soft grass green, and he threaded his fingers through my hair, as he finished his call. "_Grazie,_" he snapped the phone down and pulled me up so that I rested against his chest. "Hello beautiful," he murmured, dusting kisses along the line of my shoulder and neck, "like the rooms?"

I nodded absently, bringing the tub down between us, "I found this though and I wondered if you knew what it was?"

He frowned and took the tub from me, quickly reading the label. He took a sharp breath and I glanced up at him, "what's the matter?"

He didn't answer me, unscrewing the cap and taking a look at the contents. He also sniffed it, much like I did, and took a finger, dragging up a small bit of the paste onto his finger. "I think…I think its sun screen for vampires," he translated the label for me, "_absolute protection for vampire skin. Europe's best kept secret. Reapply every 2 hours. Only use for face and hands, NOT for full body protection._" He smeared a bit of the cream onto the back of his other hand, taking a look at the stripe of whitish paste, "seems pretty legit."

"Vampire sunscreen?" I asked incredulously, "are…are you sure it will work?"

He grinned devilishly and gave me a quick peck on the mouth and springing up towards the windows, "We shall see, won't we?"

Worry sparked through me and I followed him to the window, "Edward, I don't like this. You could get hurt. What if it doesn't work?"

"Then why would this very expensive and very exclusive hotel put it into their cabinets?" he asked, carefully beginning to rub the thick cream onto his hand, right down to the wrist. He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, then suddenly snapped the window open and shoved the hand smeared with the sun block out into direct sunlight. I squeaked at the sudden movement, hands flying up to my face as he exposed himself to the sunlight.

Nothing happened.

Edward's hand remained intact, glowing white in the hot sun. "Extraordinary!" Edward breathed, more to himself than to me, twisting his palm up so that he could catch the sunlight on the intricate lines of his hand. "Its so…warm, soft, like bathwater," he glanced at me, his face reminding me of a boy being given a piece of candy, "does it always feel like this?"

I began to smile when I was sure that Edward was indeed not frying like my father's fish in the pan. I tugged his hand back and examined it, pressing my fingers in the centre of his palm and then running them up his fingers. "Woah, holy shit," I muttered under my breath, dropping his hand only to look up at him, grinning widely. "To answer your question: yes, it does feel like that all the time. It sinks right into you and warms your bones. Not gonna lie, sunlight is the most amazing thing in the world."

He smirked gathering me close by the waist so we were nose to nose, placing the tub on the nearest table, "That good, huh?"

I nodded, unable to speak 'cos my brain was beginning to melt and shit. He smiled and captured my lips, pulling me up onto my tiptoes. It was slow yet had a smouldering passion that had my thoughts whirling, like snowflakes in a storm. Before I knew it, when he pulled away, he seemed to pull the words out with him.

"I love you."

The world froze.

Shock coated the both of us.

Neither of us had expected _that_ to come out.

Holy… something.

I'm in love with Edward Cullen.

No denying it now.

One day there was nothing and then…

I am in love with Edward Cullen.

It's the truth.

Edward's stared at me, something unreadable raging in his sea green eyes. "Bella?" he asked hoarsely.

He's starting to look pained.

He doesn't believe me.

I slid one hand over his heart and said quietly again, "I love you."

"You mean that?"

I nodded silently, butterflies beating the shit out of my stomach.

And just like that, his smile was back. His twenty-four karat, million-watt smile.

He laughed, loud and joyous and his mouth crashing to mine as he swung me around.

Happy Vampadonis is happy.

_Really_ happy.

As soon as he released my lips I gasped, "someone's happy."

He put me down and cupped my jaw, his sharp emerald eyes boring into me, "I love you Bella Swan. I'll still love you when a hundred years have passed, and then a thousand years more after that."

Holy hell.

Did I just hear?

…Yeah, I did.

He was still smiling, as he brushed a curl from my cheek, "I've been dying to say that for weeks."

My voice broke as I said, "its scary."

It was.

You ever felt something like love?

If you haven't, it's fucking terrifying.

It's like giving a part of yourself over, knowing that part of you could be in danger of being burned or crushed or stamped on. Love is dangerous. But it's also exhilarating.

So fucking exhilarating.

He nodded silently in understanding, pressing his forehead against mine, "I know." He threaded his fingers through my hair, tucked my head under his chin and hummed a soft melody.

We remained like that for a while, listening to the rising sounds of Venice in the day time: boats, people, dogs, cats, bells, all rushing around this small bubble. It was silence and noise at the same time.

It was long time before I whispered with a rasp in my voice, "you gonna show me Venice?"

He took a deep breath and he pulled away, grinning down at me. The excitement was beginning to build again, the buzz returning with a vengeance, "Venice waits for us, beautiful, just say 'go'."

I beamed taking his fingers in mine own, "Go."

**There we go! Vampire sunscreen…who'da thunk it?...well…me of course, but I'm demented so…**

**That was too cutsey for words. Seriously. Vampadonis and the Girl who Ran are back together again. Good reunion? Please tell me!**

**I've finished school! You are no longer talking to a school girl! I have more say over my choices now… and maybe more free time. I do have the entirety of summer ahead of me so quicker updates. Looking forward to it. **

**I think I'll publish a chapter for Jewels first before I publish the next, never-before-seen chapter of this one. Its been seriously neglected in all of this 'Lawlclan kerfuffle'. But next chapter is… drum roll please…in Edward's POV! Yes I am doing a chapter in Edward's stance. He's needed one I think and also so many people asked for one. So yes…I'm doing that. *nods firmly with an air of determination***

**Thank you for all your support through this! I'm glad people still like this rewrite and hope it continues. The uncensored version of this story is in TWCS under the same penname. Check it out if you want and if you are the right age, *wags finger in patronising way*. **

**Bones **

**Random Fact # 17: I've known my best friend since I was 5. While I'm the writer, she's the scientist. I'm incredibly messy, she's incredibly neat. I've got brown hair, she's got blonde hair. Yet she is the only person who understands my nonsense and I understand hers. **

**I'm going to miss her so much…**


	19. Daphne and Apollo: Part 1

**I do not own Twilight.**

**Me: Derpie-derpie-derp just doing teenagery things, tra-la-la la-la! **

**IB examinations: *pounces on unsuspecting me* MWAH-HA-HA! NO! NO LITTLE UNSUSPECTING HUMAN GIRL! I am here to bring you insomnia, nightmares about serial killing OAPs, crappy skin and a massive case of writer's block! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME NOW!**

**Me: *suddenly transforms into damsel in distress* What? No! Please, I am young and have my whole life ahead of me. Please have mercy! I beg of you!**

**IB examinations: *cackles* Never little scrawny human! Now answer this: the impact of Gorbachev's role in the ending of the Cold War in the 1980s.**

**Me: what? That's too late to be history! I was born two years after the collapse of the USSR. My parents were rocking to David Bowie before that. Why should I-**

**IB examinations: DO IT, BITCH! **

**.**

**.**

**.**

***Snigger* I still has revision fever. It****'****s like cabin fever but with fewer pirates. **

**I really did have a nightmare about a serial killing old man. And I couldn't write anything. Honestly, I tried. It was horrible. My poor brain was thoroughly abused. But in the end, it was worth it. *grins like a lunatic* I****'****ll leave that juicy awesomeness for later****…**

**And then the whole LawlClan issue. I just...ugh. Not going there. I don****'****t need to. *Nods firmly* So there.**

**Here's Part 1 of Edward's perspective! I know, I didn't see it coming either. Lots of people asked if there was going to be one and I wasn't too sure. But when I published the last chapter I suddenly got this really clear picture in my head of what it would have been like to be Edward during the kidnapping. So here it is, the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! **

_Daphne and Apollo: Part 1_

By the French doors, she gives me one last look before she takes her 'human minute' as she likes to call them. She gives me that smile, the little quirk to her lips that creases small dimples in her cheeks. The golden light from the hall makes her skin glow, but only I know that up close she has a light dusting of freckles sprinkled across her nose. Her eyes glitter with a joy that has only began to show recently, the irises flecked with golden-green. Sometimes when she's thinking or confused, she gets a tiny crease between her brows. Her hair burns a deep red or a glimmering gold in the light from the candles. Her lips are full, pink. Alice would have said that it was down to her amazing lipstick skills, but Bella's lips have always been pink and soft, her bottom lip slightly fuller than the top. She always parts them slightly when I kiss her. Sometimes she is so hot I think that she will scold me, like the sun.

She is my sun. My moon. My stars. And the earth I walk on.

She is unpredictable, I know that. Her tongue can be sharp. She has hurt me more times than I will let her know.

But she wouldn't be Bella otherwise.

And anyway, she's finally changed her mind.

That's the thing, a girl like Bella Swan doesn't give in, she changes her mind.

It was a long and drawn out process. It took a lot of patience on my part. _A lot_. I love her, but she's as stubborn as a mule. A lot of planning. She doesn't know, but I used to sneak into her room and watch her sleep. She'd accuse me of being a creep, but I don't care. As she breathed and dreamed I would think. At first I used to wonder, if there is a God, if he was punishing me. Making me love someone who despised me so. Whose lip would curl on sight of me, when all I wanted was to hold her.

Like Daphne and Apollo.

As the dance swirls about me, she winks at me, the green dress fluttering in the slight breeze from the open door before slipping through and out.

But she grew up eventually. She had to. Not everyone is so patient with a sailor mouthed girl. She became more stunning than she had been the first time I had met her. Underneath the barbs and the armour, a girl with a lust for new places and a fierce loyalty lurked, too choked by the angry, scared girl in command. Sometimes I saw that girl with a beautiful smile, when we were alone and all was quiet. That's when I knew that the Marking had not been a biological mistake, not some freak of nature.

And it was all coming to a head. Tonight.

Anticipation tingled in my gut and I willed her to hurry up. My gums were starting to throb and I could feel a slight tremor shake my hand. The Mating Imperative made my blood beat strong, my heart race. I hurried back to our table and picked up my glass of Swedish young man and drained it in one go, trying to calm my nerves. Alice, on Jasper's lap now, gives me a knowing look, her thoughts centred on what she had just witnessed. She flashed a grin at me before tucking herself closer to Jasper.

I licked my now dry lips and glanced at the doors again. "Hurry up Bella," I muttered to myself. The longer she kept me waiting, the more my anxiety was building up. My brothers would laugh at me if they knew, forgetting that they had been just as nervous for their own Marking.

I ran my fingers through my hair and glanced at the door again. She'd been gone now for 5 minutes. What's taking her so long? Worry wheedled into the ball of nerves at the bottom of my stomach. Bella was not the one for teasing. Not in this way. Rubbing my mouth, I glanced at the open windows. I debated on whether to check on her, but I knew it was dawn now. But what if she had tripped or something? Knowing her, she'd probably sprained her ankle and turning the air blue as I wait here.

Alice's laughter broke my reverie, "I'll go check on her, don't you worry."

Alice slipped out of the very same French doors that Bella had gone through, while Jasper sidled up to me. Hands in his pockets, "So… you and Bella, huh?"

I swallowed, nodding in assent. He grinned and slapped me on the back, "finally, we all thought you'd die a virgin."

"Fuck off," I told him politely, giving him a flash of fang, "I'm not in the mood."

He snorted, "Chill little brother." _Pre-deflowering jitters_, he was thinking, his thoughts containing an amused tinge.

I scowled even deeper and was about to turn away when Alice's panicked face met my vision. I froze as she wended her way towards us, her eyes shining in the candlelight, as she said four words that winded me, "She's not out there."

My instant response was to deny it, "She must be. Check again."

"I'm telling you Edward, she's not out there. Unless she spontaneously managed to become invisible, she's not there," Alice began to tremble and Jasper on instinct pulled her towards him, his eyes now alert on the crowd. "She wouldn't run," Alice whispered, terror in her grey eyes, "Not now."

Icy dread began to build along my spine and I pushed through the crowd, looking for one of the Hunters. I eventually found Kam leaning against one of the pillars, a small circle cleared around him as vampires avoided going near him. I fought my natural instincts to snarl and run and stepped up to talk to him, "We think Bella's missing. She went out to get some fresh air and hasn't come back for 10 minutes. Could you check the gardens for her?"

Kam nodded silently, his face instantly tense as he then pushed his way through the crowd towards the window I had gestured to and out into the dawn. In that moment, I was jealous of him, able to walk out in the sun while I remained trapped here, not knowing if Bella was outside or not. For what must have been the thousandth time, I looked inwards to the Tie, the mental manifestation of the Marking. As usual, as soon as I tried to follow it to the other end, it fuzzed and crackled, leaving me with only a cloud that obscured everything. This was in contrast with the others had told me. My brothers and father said that when they followed the Tie, they ended with the Star, a bright mental image of their Consort. As soon as they saw it, they knew exactly where their consorts were, what they were doing and whether they were in danger. But me? I was left, groping in the dark, trying to find the light. I think that was what made her so averse to the Mark. She could not let me in, would not let me in. It was maddening.

While I waited, I went back to our table and told the others there of Bella's sudden disappearance. Everyone went on alert, vampires keeping a tight hold on mates, eyes shifting around the room in wariness. Jack Bell even looked at me with an element of sympathy in his gaze as he tucked his nervous looking consort closer to his side.

I paced away again and rested my head against a pillar and closed my eyes, willing to calm myself down and not dig my fists into the pillar. I could hear the whispers across the hall both auditory and mental, as the news spread that a consort had been taken. Some whispers were worried, others piteous. Most though were vicious.

_...How can anyone lose their consort like that? Fucking idiot who..._

_...must not be a proper vampire if..._

_...inadequate and worthless to the race..._

I growled lowly and the sound of crumbling, grating stone met my ears. My hands, of their own volition, were making quick work of the stonework. I had to stop. Bella's voice suddenly snarked in my ear, "_since when did you turn all 'Hulk' Vampadonis? You been eating your greens? Oh...wait..." _

The idea of her being hurt...

A red haze descended on my vision and I felt my fangs descending. The more cracks and snaps from the pillar before me as the dust dug into my fingernails and rubble descended about my feet. A low snarl ripped through my chest and my senses seemed to sharpen as the need to find her deepened.

"Edward?" the cool, calm voice drifted through that red haze. A hand landed delicately on my shoulder, "Edward, love. Why don't you come over? Can't have you bring the whole castle down."

I turned to see my mother, my small, kind mother, who smiled warmly at me, her eyes glimmering in candles. She proffered her hand, keeping her other on my shoulder, "don't be alone."

I tentatively took her hand and she led me away, tsking as she dusted the rubble off my knuckles. "Honestly, its like you're twenty years old all over again," she scolded, "getting your clothes all dirty in that mud puddle by the kitchens before that important dinner in '21, with the ambassadors from Switzerland."

My mother was trying to distract me. It was not very successful but she was trying. I said nothing and she patted my arm gently with a sad little smile on her face. No one said anything as we arrived to the table. With one final pat to my arm, my mother slipped away, returning to my father's side. I understood. When a consort went missing, all consorts gathered to their vampires, like sheep to shepherds when the wolves were circling. I sat heavily into a chair, my leg jiggling up and down as we waited for news.

Finally, both Kam and Gael returned to us, grim looks on their faces. My fingers dug into the wood of my chair as their findings tumbled from Gael's lips, "Bella is not out there. We tracked her scent from the balcony to the wall. We scaled the wall, followed their scents to the road just outside the castle wall. We didn't get very far: it looks like they got into a car and drove off. There's no trace of the trail but there's a strong scent of petrol and exhaust. They'll be well out the town by now, maybe even the province. One thing is clear though, she's been kidnapped, probably from a rival coven."

As Bella would have said; No. Fucking. Shit.

Then the implication of what they were saying hit me. There was still a part of her that knew the dpeths of vampires and what depravities they were capable of. I gritted my teeth and snapped, "so you lost her."

Kam arched an eyebrow at me and Gael's eyes sparked in challenge, "we're doing all that we can to find her Cullen."

"You were supposed to make sure that it never happened," I snarled, getting up and curling my lip. "What was the point in you if you can't even do your job properly."

Baiting hunters was just as good as baiting vampires. They always rose to the challenge.

Kam hissed through his teeth and Gael seemed to increase in size, "I'm sorry. You wouldn't even need us if you and your girlfriend weren't so fucked up."

I didn't think. A red haze descended on my vision. The beast within me sent me snapshots of what I could do, my hands buried in Gael's chest cavity, snapping her spine in half or smashing her skull against the marble floor.

All of it looked _good_.

I lunged forward, arms outstretched but not before Gael grabbed my wrist and pulled my body out of its course. Another snapping growl and I twisted, grabbing Gael's arm and twisting it so she was dragged forward to my body. I opened my jaws wide to deliver the death blow to her vulnerable neck but not before I felt something sharp digging into my neck, and someone else's hands grappling with my body, holding me still with a steel grip. "Don't make Kam inject you Edward. Dead man's blood will slow you down for at least 24 hours and Bella needs you on your top form." Gael's blue green eyes burned into mine, our grips on each other never faltered. I felt Kam's hot breath on my neck, heard their thundering hearts. Gael dug her fingernails into my flesh and she whispered lowly, so only I would hear, "What would Bella say right now? Hmm? What would she say if she saw you like this?"

I knew what she was trying to say.

She'd be furious. She'd be terrified of me.

I was no better than the vampire that slaughtered her grandmother.

_The fuck you getting angry for, Cullen? Stop doing the cave man shit and come fucking find me already, dickwad. _

I closed my eyes, the pinch created by the fangs slowly receding as they retracted back. Gael and Kam slowly released me and the sting of the needle disappeared. I lifted my hands and ran them through my hair, tugging harshly on the ends.

It was already starting.

I released my hair and opened my eyes, realising that everything had gone deadly quiet around me. I looked up to see nearly every table staring at us. The thoughts swelled and reached a crescendo. My hands fisted then spasmed out again. I glanced at Gael and Kam and murmured, "I'm sorry. Lost…lost control."

Kam only nodded slowly, eyes wary on me still. Gael stepped backs stiffly her jaw clenched, "I'm sorry too. What I said earlier was not fair." She rubbed her temples, as if trying to dissolve a headache, "she shouldn't have gone outside on her own. I understand that we thought the main threat," she glanced over at the dais before returning her attention back to us, "was dissolved, should we say. Easy mistake to make. We were all at fault."

She glanced at Father, "Does the Volturi know?"

He nodded, "by word of mouth no doubt." His eyes swept the hall, "I think its best for all if we head back to our rooms and continue this conversation in private. We need to discuss who might have taken her and why." He looked at all of us again, while pulling Mother closer to his side, "stay together."

My brothers were already moving, Alice and Rosalie close to them. Emmett and Jasper had pity in their gazes, Rosalie looked scared, Alice worried. My mother cupped my cheek, her thoughts also worried as she smiled sadly at me before my father pulled her away. His thoughts were focused on the list of enemies that would try to get to him, barely thinking of the human girl trapped in the mess of them.

I couldn't be bothered to get angry at that. It was just Carlisle, through and through. He'd never been a cruel father but he never was the 'warm and cuddly' type. It didn't suit him. I knew that he loved his sons in his own way. He just left the tenderness part to Esme.

I hadn't moved and Gael had already left to escort the others. Kam moved into my line of sight, his dark eyes fixed on me. He tapped the side of his head in an invitation.

I arched my eyebrows and he tapped his temple again, his fingers reaching up to tap my forehead.

I realised what he was trying to say and let myself listen in on his thughts. His mental voice was smooth and low, a memory of what his voice used to sound like. _She__'__ll do everything in her power to get back. She__'__ll fight like no other until she__'__s back with you. You know that, don__'__t you_.

The last sentence was not a question.

He was right. Bella had a cop for a father. It stood to reason that Charlie had drilled into her from a young age what to do when in a kidnapping situation. Bella was not going to be some passive damsel in distress waiting with tearful eyes for someone to burst in. Regardless of what happened in her past. Of what happened to those she loved. She'd fight tooth and nail. With a lot of swearing accompanying it.

I smiled grimly and murmured, "Thank you."

Kam flashed his teeth at me, before slapping his hand on my back, _we need to go. You__'__ve caused quite the scene_.

I laughed hollowly and dragged my feet back up the stairs and out of the great hall. Kam kept his distance behind me and I was glad for it.

Eventually we reached our rooms, where already the others were in heated discussion about what to do, the shutters closed firmly against both sunlight and eavesdroppers.

"I don't think it's the Volturi," Alice said, curled up on one of the couches and tears on her cheeks. "I would have seen it. Its people we have never considered a threat. Someone we think is weak or weakening. "

Father was pacing by the windows, brow creased in concentration as he muttered to himself. "It could have been any of them. Any of the people in that hall. The covens could have sent any one of their men to get her while distracted. It could have been _any of them_."

I had to put my fist to my mouth to keep the roar that was pushing to get out in my chest.

Jasper said quietly, "we must be able to narrow it down. Was Bella ever in contact with the other covens? Consorts or vampires?"

Rosalie shook her head, "she was always careful. She stuck with us when you were all away. We hardly spoke to any of the other covens apart from the Bells and Denalis."

"Could it be the Volturi?" Emmett asked, "I mean…Aro nearly strangled Bella first day we got here."

"It doesn't make sense though," I finally put in, "Aro had given us the all clear. We had performed to his standards. Why eliminate his ticket of getting the vampire front on the good side again?" Remembering his thoughts from when he first met Bella, I internally shuddered. He'd been fascinated by her, intrigued by her immunity and amused by her stubbornness. He amused himself by imagining what he could do to humiliate her and 'put her in her place.'

This was normal coming from something like Aro. Teetering on the edge of ennui, Aro and his brothers were no longer of this world. Anything that was even a fraction out of the norm had them circling like buzzards, poking and prodding until the unique thing broke under their pressure. And Bella was in the focus of their interest. They wouldn't toss her aside until she had stopped entertaining them.

Their intentions with her terrified me.

But this sudden kidnapping didn't fit in with what Aro had been planning.

This was far too sudden, far too blunt violence, even for Aro. The Volturi had a subtle more elegant way of quietly getting what they want.

Kam suddenly tapped Gael on the shoulder and began to signal rapidly.

Gael blinked, her eyes darting between his moving hands before saying said, "woah, slow down Kam. I'm good but I'm not that good."

Kam huffed though his nose and repeated the actions again. Just as impatient as he was, I listened in on what he had to say.

My fists clenched as Gael explained to the others, "In the Union, we keep tabs on suspicious supes. Vampires, werewolves, fey etc that have been connected to outbreaks of violence, dealing, trafficking, other fun stuff like that. We pay them a little visit and…without their knowledge, chip them." There was a hiss around the room at that and Gael put her hands up, "no one in this room has been chipped, I promise you that. At the same time we get records of flight tickets, CCTV footage, receipts stuff like that, to try and figure out what they're doing, where they've been, where they're going. We can look for patterns of vampires that have visited Washington within the last few months or so. See if we can pinpoint a particular coven or group of vampires behind it."

"That sounds very illegal," Jasper said bluntly, "its against the Code."

"Fuck the Code," Gael said bluntly, finally getting irritated, "God knows we're not the first to break it so shut up." She regained control of her rapidly raising voice and continued in a calmer voice, "Its not important right now. At this moment in time its going to be useful for Bella. Could we please focus on that instead of ethics?"

Carlisle muttered something under his breath, Emmett grumbled and Jasper only nodded stiffly, but I could hear everyone's raging. Under normal circumstances I would be furious with them. We knew that the Union did a lot of things less than moral but they were incredibly adept at covering it up. But at the time, I really could not have cared less about it.

As Gael had said, maybe it was going to help Bella.

"What do you have to do?" I asked quickly. The others glanced at me in worry but I ignored them.

"Son, you can't be serious," Carlisle asked, eyes burning yellow, "what would it look like to-"

"Carlisle, for once could you stop thinking about propaganda," I growled, "I don't fucking care if they boil puppies, if it gets Bella back that's all I care about." I returned my attention to Gael and repeated, "So, what do you have to do?"

Gael began to remove the pins from her twist, letting the flame read hair fall down her shoulders. "We need to call Kevin."

_Wow, anti-climax of the century_, Bella muttered in the corner.

"Kevin?" Rosalie asked sceptically. Gael tied up her hair into a ponytail, removing her earrings quickly and hooked her heels off, chucking them to the side.

Kam then tossed Gael a phone and she began to dial, "shut up, Kevin is a genius."

Placing the phone to her ear she began to pace in front of the windows, "Kevin! How's my favourite nerd?"

I heard the irritated buzz of a voice on the other end, grumpily snapping back at Gael, "Yes I know its 10 o'clock at night but I really, really need this favour from you."

A burst of swearing on the other end, "Kevin- yes I know that this must be the thousandth favour I've gotten from you but I really…oh don't be such a drama queen…of course I appreciate you! How could I not?...Kev how about I strike you a deal?... no you wanna listen to this Kev, I'm not kidding…I will introduce you to my friend Madeleine from Paris if you do this favour for me…yes, that lovely waitress that got attacked by werewolves last year…no she is still not a werewolf…yes we keep in touch still, you want to see the Facebook messages?...you've already seen them. It's scary how that does not surprise me…so will you do this favour?..." Gael's face broke into a grin, "Cheers mate you have no idea. Listen: could you send me the records of all the listed vampires that have visited the Olympic area in Washington in the past three months or so?... yeah, to my secure email account and to Kam's… cheers mate, thanks a million."

She flicked her phone shut and glanced up at us, "he'll do it within the next 20 minutes or so. He's been obsessed with Madeleine for the past year." She slipped the phone into her back pocket, "Sorry for all the hee-hawing. It's the only way to get him to do anything for you."

Carlisle only nodded stiffly, then rubbed his hand across his jaw. He didn't like being out of control. It had been one of his main concerns about having Hunters on the trip – that they would boycott his control of things.

He reinstated his leadership by calling up the men we had taken with us and ordering them to secure the rooms. Gael ran to her room and came back with two laptops. "Think fast Kam," she said, tossing one of the laptops to him.

With lightening reflexes Kam caught it and Carlisle said to everyone, "from now on, no one leaves the rooms. I'm not risking another disappearance."

Jasper pressed his lips to Alice's temple, "You should get to bed, darling."

Alice shook her head violently, "I'm not missing anything. What if I see something?"

"You know you won't see anything when you're this tired. Sleep and you'll get better clarity," Jasper got up and held out his hand for Alice to take.

Rose gave Alice a watery smile, "I'll stay up for the both of us." She then glanced at Emmett with a warning, "Right Emmett?"

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever you want, Rose." He kissed her on the forehead and I turned away. I loosened my tie, dishevelled my hair, undoing the top few buttons or so of my shirt.

I went around and sat heavily onto the couch next to where Gael was crouched over her laptop, staring avidly at the window that showed her email. "C'mon Kev," she was muttering tapping her fingers on the coffee table.

"I want to help," I said brusquely, interlocking my fingers and digging them into the flesh of the backs of my hands.

Gael glanced at me, something unreadable in her face. I didn't want to hear her mind. Hear her pity. I didn't want it. "Well, once we get the records up you could help me. See if you recognise any of the vampires and if they're from Forks. They might have hidden themselves amongst the paparazzi. Also create lists of all the connected vampires. See if they're associated with any covens."

I nodded and when she tried to hand me a piece of paper and pen I shook my head, tapping the side of my skull, "I'll remember."

Gael nodded, "ok then."

My mother walked around the couch, gave my shoulders a slight squeeze as she passed, kissing the top of my head. "She'll be fine," she whispered, "she's always been fine."

I clenched my jaw and said nothing, allowing her to walk away. I closed my eyes and looked to the Tie again, trying to break through the mist and fog. Still nothing. It was infuriating.

I just wanted to see her. Just one glance. Was that so much to ask?

"Uhm…Cullen? There's something I should tell you," Gael said, her voice sounding sheepish.

It had my head snapping up, staring at her in wariness. "What?"

Gael stared at me evenly, her thoughts confusing to listen in to, "I gave her a dagger on the flight over. A wooden one, to use in defence. Before the ball I gave her a holster to put it in. She'll have it, right now. She's not entirely defenceless and she's not stupid. She'll figure things out, you'll see."

I stared at her, wondering whether to berate her or say thank you. The idea of Bella with a dagger all the way through the Assembly thus far was nauseating to think of. It may have given her confidence bordering on recklessness and may have made her do something incredibly foolish. While at the same time, I did feel slightly better knowing that she wasn't completely vulnerable.

"Thank you Gael," I murmured, "I understand why you did not tell me sooner."

She gave me a grim smile. She turned back to her computer and refreshed her mail one last time before she jumped with relief. "Kevin, you legend."

She clicked on the new email that popped up in her mailbox and downloaded the attachment. The computer screen began filling with multiple windows, mug shots of vampires, endless numbers of names in a variety of languages filling the screen. "Holy shite," Gael muttered, "You got it Kam?"

Kam nodded silently, his eyes fixed on his own screen. Emmett sat next to him, purple eyes wide as he murmured, "I'll help."Carlisle came up behind us, staring at the screen over our shoulders, "how long will this take?"

"Fuck knows," Gael muttered, quickly scanning through the files, "There's been a lot of vampire activity in that area anyway 'cause of what Bella's like. I reckon we have about 200 files to sift through and create patterns out of. Probably a few hours, maybe the morning."

Carlisle sighed through his nose then said gruffly, "You better start then. Meanwhile I'll do damage control with the other covens, try and keep them away from taking advantage of our position."

As he drew away, I shuffled forward towards the computer, "Why don't we do A to M and Kam and Emmett do M to Z. Do it methodically, remember the patterns."

Gael whistled through her teeth, "this is going to be a fun morning."

***B*F***

Ludicael Dries.

Akhenaton Enet.

Noble Osund.

Elwin Gees.

Darkly scowling faces glared up at me, some with scars lacerating their faces, others with intricate tattoos that curled around their cheeks and eyebrows.

Some I recognised vaguely from various meetings and battles of the past century, men I had never seen since. Others I recognised as members of the paparazzi that had crowded Bella in those first few weeks. I knew at the time that vampires were amongst them: I had expected it. I'd never thought of the long term implications of it all.

Already we were linking vampires into groups. Some were only two or three members big: fringe covens (sometimes known as pilot covens) only curious about the new consort of our larger more powerful coven. Other vampires were linked with some of the more major covens. But again there were only two or three of them.

But the biggest group by far of vampires seemed to come from Eastern Europe or Russia. A traffic of them seemed to just flow through the Olympic area each one more grim looking than the last.

Emmett pointed at one particular one sometime before midday, "Wasn't he at Dallas in '62?" I peered at the face in question and nodded when I recognised the thick jawed man with no hair and a long pink scar from his eyebrow to his chin.

"Melor Pavlov, wasn't he there as an employed soldier for-"

"The Petrov Coven," Jasper interjected, "and the other vampires who are Slavic, are they associated with the Petrov Coven as well?"

When we looked through this, we found that nearly all the vampires had links with the Petrov Coven, judging by how they had been seen at various scuffles and battles related to the War of Sticks and Stones.

My stomach was knotting itself into tighter and tighter knots. As more and more clearer links were made to the Petrov Coven I felt like a pressure was building behind my eyes. Making it more difficult to focus, the red haze returning.

The Petrov Coven were just as bad as the Volturi in regards to cruelty, even worse to enemies. In one particular instance a couple of months ago, one of our scouts had disappeared for 3 weeks. He was returned, eyelids, lips, tongue, ears and fangs removed, impaled in the middle of Time Square for everyone, humans and supernatural alike, to see what was done to people who wronged the Petrov Coven.

Bella was in the middle of it all.

She'd be terrified. She'd be hurt. It'd be my fault.

I got up, too infuriated to keep sitting.

Stalking away, it was too easy to suddenly strike out against the wall. Stone crumbled and dusted to the floor and I rested my forehead above the new hole. My eyes stung and I closed them to show no weakness.

Bella.

I'm so sorry.

This is all my fault.

**Yah…sorry 'bout that. Cliffies are bitch-harpies. (They're worst than normal bitches y'know).**

**I had originally only wanted to do this in a oner. But that would make a super long chapter: we're talking 10,000 words (I'm not kidding, this half is nearly 6000 words long). I don't want chapters to drag so…Part 2 coming soon!**

**This was pretty awesome to write, not gonna lie. Poor Edward's in a bit of torment. You see what he meant when he was glad Bella didn't see him in that way. At least we know it's a happy ending!**

**Now for some really awesome juicy, excellent news…who's going to uni? Guess, go on, guess. Yeah…you know who I'm talkin' about…ME! I'm going to Newcastle University to study English Language and Literature. GO ME! I got 36 points in my IB exams! I'M GOING TO UNI! YES!**

**That is all. :)**

**Till next time, honeys!**

**Bones**

**Random Fact ****#** **18: The best way to celebrate something (I think) is with a Ceilidh. I have never been to a sober Ceilidh. Ever. (I love being Scottish)**

**P.S. if you don't know what a Ceilidh is, Wikipedia does a pretty good job explaining it. **


	20. Daphne and Apollo: Part 2

**It cannot have been 5 months since I last updated this. No freaking way. Where did the time go? So much has happened since last time I was on here, its insane. Can't really put it all into one A/N but basically a combination of university and general life problems have been keeping me busy. Sorry but not really sorry because I've been having awesome fun in between. :) **

**Here is what happened last time on BF:**

**1. Edward's point of view of what happened while Bella is kidnapped**

**2. Edward is starting to lose himself to Blood Grief**

**3. The Cullen Coven regroups and tries to work out who had taken Bella**

**4. They use Gael's and Kam's contacts to work out what kind of vampire was visiting Forks**

**5. They work out it was the Petrov Coven. Dun-dun-DUN!**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this!**

_Daphne and Apollo: Part 2_

It was two weeks ago when Bella first asked me for help. Bella lay on her stomach on my bed, studying for a French test for the next day. Scratching out vocab lists, her quiet curses drifted to my ears. "Why the fuck do the French make things feminine and masculine? Because socks are _such _feminine objects…" she muttered under her breath, completely unaware how I was watching her from where I sat by the headboard, trying to read while she studied. But her little curses were far more entertaining than father's break down of the recent market figures for _Vitality_.

She huffed a strand of reddish brown hair out of her face, her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Tapping her pen, she began mouthing the French nouns off her tongue, trying to etch them into her memory with a creased brow and biro stained fingers. On the back of her left hand I saw scribbles of reminders and memos she wrote herself during the day, scrappy tattoos that stained her skin blue. She scratched her cheek, huffed again and said, "can you help me?"

I blinked, masking my surprise as she now turned to look at me, eyebrow quirked in a question. She seemed unaware of what she had just done, tapping her pen on the page while continuing to say, "I swear this stuff is just not absorbing, no matter what I do."

I smiled, moving the documents off to the side and drawing myself closer, "how do you want me to help?' I asked, secretly rejoicing at this new development.

She huffed (she did that a lot when she was frustrated with homework) and said, "you speak French don't you? Its one of your amazing vampire super powers isn't it?"

I chuckled, "how about you give me the list and I'll test you. See what you do know and what you don't know, if that's the case I'll give you a way to remember it."

Relief relaxed her face and she smiled those smiles that showed a softer part of her, "Thanks, I really need to get this test right." She eyed the formal documents, "I'm not interrupting shit am I? Looks important."

"You can always ask me for help," I said quietly, picking up her notes and skimming through them. She rolled onto her back, stretching and popping her back as I said even quieter that she didn't hear, "I am always here for you."

I can't help thinking now that I lied.

Every time I said those words, I lied.

Gripping the damaged wall for support, I took a deep breath. The others were already discussing what next to do.

"The Petrov Coven wouldn't have made a move without a base here in Italy," Gael's Hunter mind was continuously working as she got up and began to pace. "We think that their main centre for operations is in St Michael's Castle in St Petersburg which is way too far out for the Petrovs. Vlad and Stef are way too much the control freaks to let just the lackeys deal with something as important as the kidnapping of a rival coven's consort."

Jasper was nodding, "you're right. They'd have looked to buy a property in the near vicinity."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Rose said, dark circles marring her usually perfect skin, but she had stubbornly stayed up all night, "wouldn't the Volturi know that the Petrov had a house in their territory? It would be way too dangerous for them, why risk it for one girl?"

"Not if you use your lackey's businesses as aliases to buy houses under," Gael said quickly, her eyes sparkling with fervour. "What if we were to hack into their financial records? Find out if they had bought any properties in Italy."

"How easy will that be?" I asked, rubbing my mouth, trying to hide how my hands were trembling.

First sign of Blood Grief: the shakes.

"Kevin is a legend," Gael said simply, grabbing her phone and dialling the same number as before.

Gael's loud exuberance when replying to a grumpy Kevin again was even more grating than it was before. I shut out Gael's cajoling of the whiney computer hacker and focused instead on the tiny sliver of hope we had. I wandered away from the others, their bright voices and loud actions grating on me, pressing heavy on my chest.

I slipped quietly away into our bedroom for the first time, pulling off my tie and throwing it onto the bed, my jacket quickly following it. A blade of fresh gold sun sliced through the dust motes falling onto her side of the bed. Her pyjamas were scattered across the bed linen, her most recent book splayed on top, the spine near to falling to pieces.

Fingernails biting into my palms I circled the bed, coming close to the slice of light that barred me from her things. I stopped at this incorporeal barrier. Needle sharp pain sliced through me as I caught a breath of her scent. Fresh apples gilded with winter snow. Sharp, distinctive, unique.

To block it out my fist thrust itself into the white gold knife of light. My skin sizzled and bubbled, the pain like an animal barrelling terrified away from a forest fire through my body. The skin began to charcoal but I didn't let my hand drop, feeling the pain get greater. Anything to block the crackle of the flawed Tie and the fresh wave of increasing anguish that would rise with every mouthful of her scent.

Smoke curled in the air making her scent sour and rot. My stomach turned and the beast inside bayed for blood. _When you find them_, it hissed, _rip out their hearts and turn them to mince in your hands while they still beat. Show them what you can do. Show them what happens when they take what is yours_.

I found myself smiling in agreement, the echo of iron and salt in my mouth sweetly making my teeth elongate and the snarl build in my throat. The pain from the sun seemed to give me strength to my resolve and I let it snowball with the sparkling fury that threatened to bowl me over.

I wanted it to take me over.

It was about to take me over.

"EDWARD!"

Emmett slammed me against the window shutters, snapping my hand out of the sunlight. He grabbed my face with both hands around my jaw and said, "Look at me Edward. Look at me."

My big brother's voice sounded terrified, something I had never heard him be before, not since we were children. The beast roared about him trying to stop us from our divine right as a consort to gain our blood. He suggested killing him, slaughtering for the sake of Bella, our Bella.

Part of me coldly considered the idea. That reptilian part of me that didn't care for anyone or anything. Only blood.

But then Emmett's voice shattered through, "Remember when we were younger and we went on our first hunting trip together without father? Remember how mush fun we had, how free we felt? Do you remember running with us?"

I did. I remembered flying over the greenery and through the trees, feeling the wind rush past me, hearing my brother's laughter and their goads that they could run faster than me, that they could catch more prey than me. The taunts were playful and we had ended up wrestling it out in a massive puddle of mud by a huge waterfall in the middle of the forest.

The memory cooled the rage that threatened to blind me. I finally looked into the dark eggplant eyes of my brother, his usually cheerful face creased in worry. "You ok Eddie?"

Using the nickname I hated helped to reduce the red haze that clouded my vision. I took a deep breath, finally acknowledging the burn in my fist. I looked down and saw the rapidly healing yet tender red flesh of my hand. "You were down to the bone man," Emmett said, also eyeing my hand.

"Yes," I said dazedly, not really computing any of it.

What had just happened? It couldn't be Blood Grief; it never came on this quick for other vampires. It took weeks after a consort had been taken. The only thing that brought on instant Blood Grief was consort death. And I would have known if Bella had died, that is for sure.

This accelerated rate of insanity terrified me.

I glanced up at Emmett, pleading with him, running my hands through my hair. "What's happening to me?"

I slid down the shutters, knees up and hands on my head. "I wanted to kill you Emmett," I whispered hoarsely, horror chasing through my veins, "I wanted to slaughter anyone who got in my way."

He knelt down in front of me, his eyes fixed on me, "Edward, its not you. You know its not you. Its the beast that makes you think those things. The Blood Grief brings it out, you know that. You can't let it take over now. We can find her. I promise you we can find her."

"You have no idea, though," I growled, tugging at the ends of my hair, "its feels like I'm about to implode at any moment. A slightest word from anybody and I could…" I didn't finish, not wanting to encourage the possibilities.

Emmett rubbed at his mouth, sighing through his nose, "I can't imagine. None of us can."

Desperation welled in me and I reached forward, grabbing the lapels of his suit, "Help me. Help me last until I find her," I begged him, my hands trembling so much they were shaking him.

He didn't allow pity to show in his eyes, but it was plain in his thoughts. He gripped my shoulders and said in that deep sincere voice, "I promise."

He gripped the back of my neck and forced me into a hug, pulling me into his broad body. I brought my arms around his shoulders and held tight to my big brother, trying not to keep a hold on what was real.

When he pulled away he said, "Gael and Kam have the financial records. We're going to check on their purchases in relation to Italy. You can come through and help."

I nodded, taking a deep breath and allowing him to help me up. "Don't say to the others," I said to him, "they won't let me help, they'll put me in quarantine." I looked at him again desperately, hating that it had come to this, "I have to find her."

Emmett's thoughts were in turmoil but his answer was final.

"For you brother, anything."

***BF***

Bella's time was running out.

Checking financial records of the thousand companies related to the Petrov Coven took another day.

Before we had even started however, there came a knock at our door. The Denalis and Bells were outside, consorts and all. The leaders, Alistair and Nikita bowed to Carlisle, as a sign of respect and said, "we offer our help to find one of your own."

My throat thickened as Carlisle nodded and allowed them in. Only the pregnant Maggie wasn't there but there was still a huge turnout. Agatha, sat down quietly opposite me, her Jack following onto the seat next to her and smiled wanly at me. She whispered, so only Jack and I could hear, "I'm sorry she got taken."

Jaw clenched I didn't let out a word, Jack said nothing as well, hand settled on her shoulder. She continued, hands twisting in her lap, "she was nice to me."

My nails cutting into my palms, I could only nod. I then acted like I was fascinated in the documents before me so I wouldn't speak.

The shutters were closed, laptops were clacked on, nobody talked. Alice had finally gotten up in tears, "I didn't see anything! Not one dream about her. I didn't see-" her voice continued to babble and Jasper tried to console her.

This in the end wasn't really a surprise. There was a theory that the Petrov had among them a shield that made it impossible to track their movements through any sort of supernatural power. Alice's loss of sight was therefore not the first to happen in regards to the Petrov coven.

I focused more solely on tracking the purchases made by the various companies within Italy. A map was spread across the main dining room table and every time we discovered a new house bought we marked it on the map.

I found that the more I concentrated the less my muscles twitched, the less the beast hissed nasty suggestions into my head. I could feel Emmett's eyes on the back of my head, watching my every move. He kept his promise and no one knew that the onset of Blood Grief was already in motion.

Unless the consort was actually dead, the Blood Grief came on over a slow amount of time. I had a feeling that the accelerated onset was due to the faulty Tie. It made sense: mentally I had no strong connection with her so the lack of physical connection was bound to trigger Blood Grief. As the time ticked by, the more it pressed on my temples, crackling along my nervous system.

Aro's 'sympathetic' visit as night fell again was not welcome.

"How goes the search for the lovely Isabella?" he said as he came unannounced into our chambers, breezing along in his usual ethereal manner.

One look at the Hunters on the couch and he said with a voice that would chill the air in Antarctica, "Get the Hunters out of my sight. Their presence at the Assembly I can barely tolerate but in my very presence: I would rather roll with werewolves."

Gael's face turned pink but she pressed her lips together, while Kam gathered all of their stuff together, tugging Gael along. They left, the door of their bedroom snapping behind them.

Aro glanced over the general chaos of the room, papers scattered, bottles of blood and half eaten food forgotten on tables. "I see you are working hard to find the little phoenix?"

That nickname made my blood boil, the images flashing in Aro's head at the very thought of her were sick-inducing. His concern for her was only that if he would lose an interest, a pass time. He also knew that if he was to lose us as a coven, he would lose the pressure he'd been building on the Petrovs from the East.

His guard began to infiltrate the room, circling around us, nostrils flared in scent tracking for danger to their master as their black forms starkly contrasted with the light coloured wallpaper.

I clenched my fist as one of them came close to our room. The door was ajar, and even I from my position at the table at least 10 feet away could smell her perfume wafting from the crack. The vampire in question drifted close to the door, his fingers inches from the doorknob.

The growl came without permission, the beast roaring life again, clawing on the inside of my ribcage, begging for one shot.

The guard took a step back and Aro giggled, "someone a little tense, Edward?"

His hand was on my shoulder, leeching all the warmth out of me. I didn't dare shrug him off, even as much as I wanted to. "I understand, dear Edward. It is painful to lose someone who is so close to your heart."

Tone mocking, I turned to see his gleaming bone smile. That cold cold part of me noted with detached distaste that this decrepit old vampire was the sole reason I had had to bring Bella to this place. With clarity I saw the greenish-grey veins in his temple and along his wrists.

Weaknesses, pressure points, they flickered through my head like flames behind a screen. Which would kill him quicker, which would cause less of a scene. They entertained me for a moment before I tossed them aside. They were of no advantage to me at that point. Instead I smiled, cool and soft, letting him know that he far from threatened me. "I'm dealing with it," glancing back at the spread of paper and the laptop in front of me, "it is the only thing you can do."

Aro's voice fluttered with insincere compassion, "it would be a great loss to lose such a flame as Bella. Any leads on where she is?"

His voice turned venomous as his mind became consumed with the idea that someone had managed to sneak into his territory, a direct threat to him.

Carlisle was quick to answer, a long stream of what we had found out over the past days, leaving out a few things, such as the Union's breaking of the Code. Aro's guard could easily lynch Gael and Kam if they ever found out.

I continued to scan through financial records until I heard Aro's retreating voice along with my father, "find out who did this, Carlisle. I'm not having Volturi seen as weak because of one of yours. You are therefore excused from all assembly duties until this is dealt with."

When the door snapped behind them, I could barely contain my scream.

***BF***

"Alright," Jasper eyed the map spread, a few hours after Aro's visit, "what have we got?"

"Well... it looks like we got a safehouse in nearly every corner of Italy," Gael said, standing next to him, "clever bastards are trying to get us off the right path."

"How do we know which one is the right one?" Rose said, eyes shining on the verge of tears.

She ran her fingers through her hair as I looked closer at the map, red dots sprinkled between mountains and rivers. "There must be a way to check them, check them all."

I glanced at father, "how many associates do you have in Italy and where are they?"

We were getting closer, the more time wore on, I was getting close to her. But at the same time, the Blood Grief was getting worse. Looking up at the mirror above one of the dressers in the living room, I saw my eyes were red rimmed, the inside of my ears a slightly darker red as the Bleeds were on the verge of beginning. I'd noticed my fingernails were starting to grow a little faster than normal, sharpening to points.

Blood Grief turns you into the monster of human myth.

Carlisle was quick to respond, "of course, to keep me updated with the real situation within the Volturi, and at different posts within Italy." I didn't need to say it, "we need to start calling them, make them check up on the addresses and do it quickly." Glancing around the room he said, "Bella does not have much time left."

His reminder of this tensed everybody in the room and with speed, began to write down the numbers for all the associates he had in Italy. People were assigned numbers and that was when the calling began but not before my father took me off to the side to have a 'word'.

He took me to mine and Bella's room and made me look into his eyes, his eyes a dark ombre.

"When did the Blood Grief start to effect you?"

The question was direct, without preamble.

I couldn't hide the shakes, the beast clicking his claws on the bars of his cage, I had to dab away at the blood starting to trickle from the corners of my eyes, ears and nose.

I couldn't hide it from him. Not from Doctor Carlisle Cullen, who specialised in vampire physiology.

"Almost as soon as Bella was taken," I said hoarsely, trying to keep calm.

I was sure he was going to have me locked up. My father, always emotionally distant, he treated my brothers and me as heirs and nothing more. He had no use for a son lost to Blood Grief.

His face was grim as he took my hand and pressed something into my palm, "take these. They're a new treatment I'm working on. They should slow it for a little while but not stop it. It should give you time."

The pills he'd given me were small and yellow. His simple explanation was enough at the time. And in his thoughts, were memories of me growing up. And a wish to lose none of it.

That information left me without speech.

He left me with the words "We'll find her for you son," and silently he walked away.

I stood frozen for a second, still trying to understand what had just happened. I never thought my father cared. It was not unheard-of for vampire fathers to not pay much attention to their sons. Offspring were sometimes viewed as a means to an end, and there was no need to invest more than you needed to in them. But this show of mercy revealed something different. My father did care, he just didn't show it until it was needed.

I finally dry swallowed the pills and felt the effect instantly. The shakes slowed, the blood from my ears and eyes stopped flowing and the beast's whispers became quieter. Not silenced but certainly easier to deal with.

I took another deep breath and took one more look at the Tie. Still static, still white noise. Clenching my fist, I walked out of our room, smoothing my hair back. Phones were glued to people's ears as they phoned to every corner of Italy, searching for that one address, the one house that held Bella trapped.

We were close. But time was not our friend.

***BF***

"Found it!"

The words rang out at six o'clock, with relief evident in each syllable, shouted by Rose.

We all jerked up from the tired and defeated positions we had began to take as all the addresses turned up blank. But as Rose hurried to the map, phone still in hand, new hope began to furl in my chest, silencing the building whispers of the beast inside. I watched as Rose pointed to the Italian Lakes. "She's here," she said breathlessly, "Bella is here. The guy said the place is crawling with troops of the Petrov coven. He said he even caught a glimpse of one of the Brides. She's there, she has to be."

Carlisle reached for the phone, beckoning for it. "Let me speak to him."

Rose handed over the phone without a word and Carlisle began to question the man more thoroughly, "Are you sure Lester?...you realise we can't make any mistakes...have you actually seen the girl?...Tanya herself? Were you able to hear...the cars did they have the insignia on them?...yes? You think you saw or you know you saw?..." Finally a break in questioning and Carlisle said, "good work Lester, expect a reward."

Phone snapped shut he said, "she is there." Eyes snapping around the room he began to fire orders. "Four cars will go. Edward, you will go in the first car with me Gael and Kam. Emmett and Jasper will go in the second car with the rest of our men, Bell vampires in the third and the Denalis in the fourth. Consorts will stay behind, we will not risk another Bella."

There was a cry of protest from the consorts present but they were lost in the uproar after Carlisle's speech. Everyone bolted from the room, running through the halls to gather our cars. I followed them, hope and fear spreading through me. We were finally there. We finally found her.

But were we too late?

***BF***

The cars were ready just as the sun was setting. As everyone filled the courtyard, ready to tear across the country, my mother took me to one side. Her gaze was soft and she cupped my face, "Whatever happens, you are still my son."

My eyes burned and I nodded, pressing my lips into her forehead. She held me for a moment before letting me go, gesturing towards the cars. "Go, find her."

With one last squeeze of her hand, I pulled away, heading for the first car in the line up. Taking shotgun, I settled into the seat, watching as my father started the car, Gael and Kam getting into the back. "We'll drive as fast as we can. It is just as well we are going as night is falling, less people on the roads." He pulled the car out the courtyard, speeding away from the castle, the others following in quick pursuit.

The tinted windows filtered out the sun's deadly UV rays but it didn't shelter out the view of the three sole figures on the castle turrets, watching us drive away.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon as we sped away from Volterra and onwards to Lake Garda. I watched as the landscape sped past us, as the others discussed strategies on how to infiltrate the stronghold with minimal damage.

I just thought about how I would find Bella. I thought about what I would do when I finally had her with me. Would she be changed? Would she have lost her fight? That thought repulsed me but I knew it was a possibility. A lot could happen in three days. I wanted to believe she was ok but the chances of that were so slim. It was also unimaginable. Bella without her spirit was not Bella. I'd love her all the same, but I'd miss the girl who flipped me the bird when we first met.

I'd dreamed of our future. I'd dreamed of what it would be like when she loved me as much as I did her. I dreamed of travelling the world with her, showing her the marvels just so I could watch the smiles on her face. I dreamed of faceless children and laughter. I dreamed of eternity.

It seemed so unfair it could be snatched from us.

Night began to pass into utter darkness as we drove on, the hours slipping past. I gathered from the others that they lanned to surround the property before storming it by surprise hopefully to find Bella amongst the fray. It was last minute and desperate, but it was the best we had in the time limit.

It had to work. I was going to make it work.

When we arrived, Carlisle, Alistair and Nikita directed all of us to surround the huge beautiful property that was nestled next to the glittering black waters of the lake. I could hear people inside, murmurs of conversation in a different language. Nothing out of the ordinary, but my eyes became focused on the lights in the main house. Which room was she in? Was she in there at all? I tried to find her scent but the place was crawling with vampires, masking whatever scents might be there.

But suddenly, just when we all were in position, fear wild and without a source barreled through me. It clawed my insides, blasting all previous thought out of my head. I choked and Jack who was with me grabbed my convulsing form, "Edward you alright?"

I couldn't answer as abruptly I felt like I was being yanked from outside the safe house walls to inside them.

"_We have a gift from the Master_!"

_Panting, swearing, struggling. Every muscle in her ached. Her head throbbed, voice ripping with screams, the cool night air a soft contrast to the ropy muscles that held her tight. _

_She was petrified. She was on the verge of giving up._

Without thought I sent out three things I knew would keep her going.

_Keep fighting_.

_Keep fighting, my beautiful girl._

_I'm coming_.

The Tie snapped back, sparking and crackling from that brief moment of clarity. I gasped, finally hearing the muffled struggles from over the wall.

She was there and she needed me.

"Edward, you can't go yet," Jack's voice was trembling, "don't, not yet. You're no good to her dead!"

Jack somehow knew as he pulled me back from vaulting the wall, "wait for the signal. Wait!"

I growled and snapped at him, willing him to take his fucking hands off of me. Bella was in danger. The Girl who Ran cannot run from this.

Finally the shrill whistle blew, Jack let me go. I crawled up the wall, hope and rage a bittersweet mixture in my stomach. I streaked through the garden and out of the corner of my eyes I saw the others follow, taking down the guards that were in our way. I snapped the neck of one that stepped into my path, snarling loudly before I silenced him.

That was when I smelt the apples and snow, so out of place in this garden of Mediterranean flowers. My head snapped up and I saw a large hulking vampire, carrying something shouting and struggling in his grasp. I distinctly heard the struggling something say in a voice painfully familiar, "Cullen will gut you alive but not before I will with a motherfucking rusty fork!"

The smile came unbidden but it was gone in a flash as I ran readying myself for the revenge I wanted. Speeding across silently so that I was right behind him, I heard his reply: "We'll see about that." The vampire's thoughts made me want to bring his death with slow torture but my main priority was to have Bella in my arms.

My hands crawled over his ribcage and I said with deliberate clarity, "Yes, I think we will see."

With a crack and a crunch, my hands crushed his chest, mashing his lungs and heart into a messy pulp. As she dropped to the ground, his load dropped into my arms.

"Bella," I whispered tangling my arms with her body, smoothing over it in a way of bringing me back to her, "Bella." Her eyes glittered in the overhead light and her hair tumbled away from her face in messy tangles. But she was the exact same as before. I felt the Blood Grief drop away as Bella tangled herself with me, head pressed to my chest.

"You came," she gasped, her breath hitching with relief.

"I am never letting you go," I pulled her head away so I could look directly into her eyes, "_never_."

I then kissed her eyelids, cheeks, forehead, nose, anything that was Bella. I finally then took her mouth, bringing her home, bringing me home, her tears making it salty sweet.

I found her.

**Duuuude, finished it! That is the end of Edward's POV. Yeah I know, no perspective on when they went to Venice, but I find writing scenes I've already written before… well… boring. So next chapter will be back to Bella in Venice! Whoopdedoo!**

**Anyway, for more information about when I'll be publishing and things like that, I now have tumblr. So just follow me to get more of an idea of what's happening with my stories and also my life (if you're interested of course.) Here's the link: **** .com**

**Aaanyway Happy New Year, I hope this year is good to you all. **

**Love **

**Bones x**

**Random Fact #** **19: I have a dog now! Her name is Minnie and she is a fawn coloured pug who is too cute for words. She's about a foot long but is convinced she's a tiger. Also, I wrote a good portion of this with her asleep on my boobs.**


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